There is the twenty-four hour news cycle. There is the power and speed of the internet, there is of course social media, and there is the instantaneous release and sharing of information through social media. The role of traditional media is also evolving. How do we then reconsider, reconfigure the ways we think about our roles and the ways we work to cope with and take better advantage of such change?

In her Welcome Remarks, ADB's Vicky C. L. Tan highlights the role of communication professionals in shaping the narrative of the development agenda.

Photos taken during the Communications Capacity Building Program for Developing Member Countries’ Communications Offices.

Development Asia is the ADB’s knowledge collaboration platform for sharing development experience and expertise, best practice, and technology relevant to the Sustainable Development Goals. In this session, participants will learn how their governments can share their own development experiences, solutions and expertise on the website, for use by other countries in the region.

Many developing countries face gaps between their current reality and preferred future. Access to development knowledge is critical to overcome the gap and improve the lives of their people.

In this session, participants will have the opportunity to make a short 5-10 minute presentation to describe their work and share examples of their organization’s communications strengths and areas where they think it could be improved. The aim of this session is to both learn from other’s experiences (their successes and failures) and also to seek solutions from the group for any communications challenges participants may face in their work.

In a crowded, noisy marketplace, it’s vital to streamline communications to establish a strong identity and message. In this session, Francesca Ayala shares her experiences of helping private sector companies communicate effectively and build their brands online. She will discuss the importance of consistent messaging and speaking with one voice; how to tell stories – through words, pictures or images – to establish connections with your audience; and how to create, implement, and measure a social media strategy that aligns with your organizations goals.

Increasingly, there is a shift in communications approaches among governments and development organizations as they look to move away from the traditional forms of one-way communication, or the “tell and sell” model, to a more participatory and inclusive approach of fostering meaningful two-way communication and engagement. This increased focus on dialogue and engagement is in part a result of the impact of social media in shifting expectations of communication as a conversation. This shift presents both opportunities and challenges for communicating in the public sector.

“Digital by default” is the assumption that information will be made publicly available in the interest of transparency, in contrast to historic approaches in which openness was an exception by conscious choice in particular circumstances. This approach means designing communications tactics and approaches around the web as the core channel, rather than as an afterthought.