The Role of Participatory Communication in Strengthening Community Voice and Ownership in Resilience Programming in Northeast Nigeria

Abstract Book of the 9th World Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities

Year: 2025

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The Role of Participatory Communication in Strengthening Community Voice and Ownership in Resilience Programming in Northeast Nigeria

Aliyu Abdulkadir Yakubu

ABSTRACT:

This paper explores the transformative role of participatory communication in strengthening community voice and ownership within the GIZ-funded Resilience Programme in Northeast Nigeria. Drawing from multiple key informant interviews conducted across Mubi North, Mubi South, and Maiha LGAs in Adamawa State, the study examines how early-stage community engagement – via dialogue platforms, volunteer committees, and village-level planning sessions – enhanced inclusion, trust, and collective problem-solving. Respondents reported that opportunities to articulate local needs and priorities helped redefine them from passive recipients into active stakeholders. Whether through school-based management committees, livelihood groups, or WASH collectives, participatory processes enabled conflict-affected marginalized groups, especially women, returnees, and adolescents, to shape the direction and content of humanitarian interventions. Case examples reveal how such inclusive practices supported effective project uptake and catalyzed voluntary local contributions, peer mentoring, and sustained community-led actions. The findings argue that participatory communication is not merely instrumental but foundational to resilience-building and sustainability in post-conflict and resource-constrained contexts. The paper recommends embedding community feedback systems and deliberative communication models at the heart of humanitarian and development programming.

Keywords: Community Engagement; Development Communication; Participation; Resilience; Sustainability