11 October 2005
OPINION: Sharing info, touching lives
AFTER ALL
Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr.
SOMETHING struck us while we were with representatives of member-agencies of Consumernet-Pangasinan last week in Sual town for the Consumer Month Information Caravan. There are just too many things, we realized, that government people can – and must – share with ordinary folk by way of helpful insights and information in order for the latter to improve their lives and livelihood.
And if that sounds like people empowerment, it is.
The problem is, the information does not really “cascade” to its proper, rightful users because there is no regular interaction or face-to-face meetings between the two, except when there are scheduled assemblies or “infocaravans” as the one we conducted last October 5. Incidentally, the Consumernet infocaravan was held simultaneously in six places in Pangasinan that day for maximum effect.
Of course, each local executive or, for that matter, any town or city official, may be calling for meetings with barangays every now and then which is well and good, although from personal observation, we find such exercises as being done primordially, more often than not, for political exposure. It is still in the various government offices and units where hard data and step-by-step procedures can be fully obtained by anyone interested. Nothing, we dare say, beats an “expert” or one who’s duly trained on a subject matter – say, agriculture, food and drugs, taxes, employment – imparting the message convincingly to a mass audience, enough to empower them on what to do about a particular concern or problem.
Using media channels such as print, broadcast and television may have its own built-in pluses, true, particularly on immediacy and audience reach. But these and similar media including the internet, are basically impersonal and given to misinterpretation by a reader, listener or browser who, in the first place, might not even have the means to avail of such channels of information, however widespread and affordable these may now be.
It is still the interpersonal approach that works best, where “faceless people” who may have started out curiously in attending a fora or had simply been dragged by a friend to a village assembly “for the fun of it”, actually end up unconsciously absorbing all sorts of useful information to guide them in dealing with complexities in some government-related transactions or situations.
Take soil analysis, for instance.
For many years, farmers out there may still be automatically relying on bags and bags of fertilizers to maximize their crop yield, spending so much sometimes for the commodity and yet getting less-than-satisfactory harvest. A caring government agricultural technician could well save him much expenses and trouble by advising him to have his farm soil analyzed first at the provincial agriculturist office soil laboratory. That way, he will know exactly the kind of nutrients that his soil lacks and thus would only need to be buying a specific and appropriate type of fertilizer to fill the lacking nutrient. No hit-and-miss type of fertilizer application.
In China, which we had the chance to visit officially more than a decade back, village assemblies are regularly conducted with modestly-dressed government technicians spearheading the gatherings and disseminating a mix agenda of political orientation with timely production tips. And the villagers drop what they are doing to attend and listen.
For all its authoritarian atmosphere, China’s success today in the political and economic front is really not hard to duplicate.
All it takes is the discipline to attend, share, listen and learn with and from others.
Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr.
SOMETHING struck us while we were with representatives of member-agencies of Consumernet-Pangasinan last week in Sual town for the Consumer Month Information Caravan. There are just too many things, we realized, that government people can – and must – share with ordinary folk by way of helpful insights and information in order for the latter to improve their lives and livelihood.
And if that sounds like people empowerment, it is.
The problem is, the information does not really “cascade” to its proper, rightful users because there is no regular interaction or face-to-face meetings between the two, except when there are scheduled assemblies or “infocaravans” as the one we conducted last October 5. Incidentally, the Consumernet infocaravan was held simultaneously in six places in Pangasinan that day for maximum effect.
Of course, each local executive or, for that matter, any town or city official, may be calling for meetings with barangays every now and then which is well and good, although from personal observation, we find such exercises as being done primordially, more often than not, for political exposure. It is still in the various government offices and units where hard data and step-by-step procedures can be fully obtained by anyone interested. Nothing, we dare say, beats an “expert” or one who’s duly trained on a subject matter – say, agriculture, food and drugs, taxes, employment – imparting the message convincingly to a mass audience, enough to empower them on what to do about a particular concern or problem.
Using media channels such as print, broadcast and television may have its own built-in pluses, true, particularly on immediacy and audience reach. But these and similar media including the internet, are basically impersonal and given to misinterpretation by a reader, listener or browser who, in the first place, might not even have the means to avail of such channels of information, however widespread and affordable these may now be.
It is still the interpersonal approach that works best, where “faceless people” who may have started out curiously in attending a fora or had simply been dragged by a friend to a village assembly “for the fun of it”, actually end up unconsciously absorbing all sorts of useful information to guide them in dealing with complexities in some government-related transactions or situations.
Take soil analysis, for instance.
For many years, farmers out there may still be automatically relying on bags and bags of fertilizers to maximize their crop yield, spending so much sometimes for the commodity and yet getting less-than-satisfactory harvest. A caring government agricultural technician could well save him much expenses and trouble by advising him to have his farm soil analyzed first at the provincial agriculturist office soil laboratory. That way, he will know exactly the kind of nutrients that his soil lacks and thus would only need to be buying a specific and appropriate type of fertilizer to fill the lacking nutrient. No hit-and-miss type of fertilizer application.
In China, which we had the chance to visit officially more than a decade back, village assemblies are regularly conducted with modestly-dressed government technicians spearheading the gatherings and disseminating a mix agenda of political orientation with timely production tips. And the villagers drop what they are doing to attend and listen.
For all its authoritarian atmosphere, China’s success today in the political and economic front is really not hard to duplicate.
All it takes is the discipline to attend, share, listen and learn with and from others.
