#EthicsMatter - The International Declaration in Communication for a Better World - A Strong Call for Commitment and Action
For more than a year now, the pandemic has been a universal reality, widely known, discussed and analysed every day on every continent. Thousands of deaths, hospitalizations, isolation, hunger, closed borders: we all bear the stigma of the first wave of the pandemic that rapidly spread throughout the world from the beginning of 2020. Far away at first, and then gradually coming closer and closer to us, the crisis became more real, more dangerous, more terrifying.
And communication is directly involved.
Moreover, as the deadliest global crisis our world has experienced in recent history, this pandemic has awakened knowledge that has been well-known for a long time but that has been deliberately excluded from the policies of our societies, as they are more preoccupied with issues of continuous growth. It has starkly revealed a dominating relationship with nature and living things, as well as an abstraction of numerous health, social, and economic pathologies of our time – accumulated, multiplied, and interconnected – but treated in a differentiated manner without a global perspective.
This pandemic struck North and South with the same violence, but with a more insidious brutality among the most vulnerable groups in our societies, accentuating inequalities of all kinds. Moreover, everyday, large gaps reveal wider weaknesses in several regions of the world and highlight major fractures in territories struggling with insufficient means to inform, protect and secure their populations, underlining vulnerabilities that directly affect the communication capacities of specialists in these regions.
At a time when our lifestyles and consumption patterns are regularly questioned as unsustainable in the public arena; when a number of health scientists and experts on these issues are widely echoed in the media; when calls for concerted action and cohesion of intervention policies have come from all over the world; many of us have, since the first months of this terrible pandemic, been nurturing within us promises of civic and professional commitment that would enable us to rebuild our hopes for the future, and for future generations.
What kind of memory will our era inscribe as a heritage in communication? What models, what knowledge, what practices, what discourses of commitment in communication will we be able to bequeath? Could we be happy to be cited as references in 40 or 50 years from now when our planet will have passed other markers identifying a possible decline of earthly life if commitments and actions are not undertaken accordingly?
These questions need answers. From each of us. We have a collective responsibility for the future.
As more consultation is called for across the planet, how can we respond to this within our own ranks without considering the strengthening of the natural links between the professional and academic worlds? The cohesion of forces, knowledge and know-how has become a necessity for the present and for the years to come.
An international mobilization – An ethical responsibility
This is why, in the face of this global health emergency and the acceleration of the intertwined climate crisis, a vast mobilization has been launched to bring together specialists and researchers in their communication roles and responsibilities. As this unprecedented global crisis calls for all the synergies around the world, the time has come to build solidarity, to mobilize and to strengthen the cohesion of communication and information forces on an international scale. To rebuild hope in these uncertain times, to harness the power of combined knowledge and know-how has become a necessity in order to redefine our vision of a better future, one that cares for nature and our humanity.
Designed and driven by an international team of communication researchers and professionals from Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Spain and Germany, a manifesto aims to establish a commitment of ethical responsibility in the field of information and communication for a better world. Promoted by ORBICOM, the international network of UNESCO chairs in communication, the International Declaration of Communications Professionals and Researchers for a healthier, viable, better world calls for the solidarity of both specialists and scientists in communication, urging them to put their expertise to work in supporting societies for a necessary transition towards healthier values.
A unifying commitment
Moreover, to be heard on a large scale in all regions of the world, this declaration circulates in six languages spoken in both hemispheres: French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and German.
Indeed, six different languages invite us to the recognition of a common language: that of the values they espouse, for the world we want to build together. Our geographical and cultural differences should no longer be considered as distant unknowns and as borders of division, but for what they are: knowledge hubs to be pooled in the face of very different understandings of the world, but rich in knowledge to be shared in order to find common solutions to global problems.
The Pandemic, History and Ethics
Today, we are at a pivotal point in our era that invites us to mobilize ourselves into a strong community of communication professionals and researchers in the face of these threats that are violently hitting our planet. This commitment to humanistic, universal, responsible and ethical values invites us to do so. But it is no longer enough to agree, we must take steps to ensure that no community in the world is forgotten: these six languages are a step in this direction.
We cannot abstract from this momentum. “Being late is an act of violence," said Gandhi. For it is indeed a major momentum. Let us remember that it was also in a world in full transformation after the Second World War, that communication professionals decided to organize their first major international meeting. After the atrocities of this long world conflict and the war propaganda, an urgent need to rebuild hope and to shape an optimistic vision of the future rallied them around ethical concerns in their activities: a strong and unifying theme that gave meaning to the humanist principles that guides all communication practices (1).
This reminder shows us once again what our history books have taught us for many generations: the determination attached to ideals of respect for human values has always been the foundation of great social progress. And communication is essential.
The parallel with the transformations of our world today cannot be ignored. Just as after World War II when the whole communication community rose up, today the power of the click of a mouse, social media, can generate a strong rally: the zoom era clearly points this out in these uncertain times.
Time for action
And at a time when half of the world's population is now under the age of thirty, when young adults are increasingly seen as major players in defining the lifestyles they favour and as tomorrow's decision-makers, we have a responsibility to open the doors, to make their voices heard.
Almost 20 years ago, Grunig, Grunig and Dozier demonstrated that in order to ensure a better understanding of the new social values emerging in the population, many communicators intensified their role as social conscience for organizations by guiding them towards new orientations deemed essential for their longevity (2). At the same period, Cutlip, Center et Broom were talking about a necessary adaptation to the expectations of their environment for their survival: "To paraphrase Darwin, it is not the powerful organizations that will survive in the new millennium, it is those able to adjust and adapt to a changing world" (3). If opening up debates with your stakeholders, including your worst opponents, is now more common, knowing how to get a foothold when our world is shaking is a responsibility that is a matter of urgency. Today's issues call for commitment and action: withdrawal and inaction are not options.
Knowing how to break barriers, how to listen, how to give a voice to the voiceless, is the very basis of responsible communication. Thus, in the face of the global emergencies of our time, knowing that communication based on listening, ethics, equity, inclusion and participation can open up 'possibilities' that are still unknown to us today, we must look to the future with hope. As Oumar Kane, ORBICOM’s Secretary general, states: ‘’Communication can stand as a force that can nourish social action and resilience. Let us bring out the power of knowledge and communication skills''.
The Declaration in a time for action
Many research chairs, groups, and networks from numerous countries in both hemispheres have already responded to this call for a better world, as well as major associations with a worldwide presence such as Global Alliance. But, in the face of this urgency that knows no boundaries, and the responsibilities incumbent on all of us in this effort, the support of each organization in communication is important. Alone, we have limited reach, but a committed community gives weight to every gesture. Let us be many to endorse this Declaration.
Sources: www.interdecom.org
(1) Grunig, L. A., J. E. Grunig et D. M. Dozier (2002). Excellent Public Relations and Effective Organizations, Mahwah, Erlbaum.
(2) Cutlip, S. M., A. H. Center et G. M. Broom (2000). Effective Public Relations, 8e édition, Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall.
(3) IPRA (2007). Ethics in Public Relations, Gold Paper No. 16, London, IPRA.
Solange Tremblay is the lead author of the Déclaration internationale des membres de la communauté professionnelle et scientifique en communication pour un monde plus sain, viable, meilleur (original version)and is the founding president of the Sustainability|Communication Group. She is considered a pioneer in research-expertise on sustainability communication in Canada and is the author or coauthor of many publications on communication issues, ethics and sustainable development. Previously an associate professor at Université du Québec à Montréal, she was the lead author of the North American part of the Global Survey for Sustainable Lifestyles developed by the United Nations Environment, the first in depth survey to be carried out worldwide on this issue.
Any thoughts or opinions expressed are that of the author and not of Global Alliance.