PLANNING FOR THE 1960s IN THE 1970s: Part II

The UN Preparatory Committee for the Second United Nations Development Decade entrusted to CESI, which is associated with the Office of Public Information, the preparation of a report on the measures undertaken and envisaged « with a view to mobilizing public opinion in regard to the objectives of the Second Development Decade ». The Report is also to be considered a response to similar requests « formulated by the General Assemby, the Economic and Social Council, the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board, and other United Nations bodies. » (P. 2) In view of the criticisms made of the Capacity Study and the Pearson Report on the question of public information, this Report clearly represents a « missing link ». It is through the measures reviewed in this Report that the « will » to act to support development is to be created. The second section of the Report consists of an analysis of the « complexity and urgency of the problem ». This concludes that : the task of explaining the necessity of promoting economic and social development is « one of the most difficult that Governments and intergovernmental bodies face today »; « development itself is not a simple idea »; « aid is only one factor among the numerous elements required to generate development »; « it would be pointless to continue appealing to individuals charitable feelings or humanitarian sentiment alone »; « a sense of lasting participation can only result from the prior understanding of the fundamentals of a given situation and the true nature of a problem »; « it is unfortunate that the impression has often been given that formulae could be devised which would bring a rapid solution to one of the most complex and intricate problems of our age. This...is one of the consequences of information programmes which tend to over-emphasize the part played by the United Nations system in the field of development rather than showing the total nature of the problem »; « the consciousness has to be conveyed that unless a global, coordinated and all-out effort is urgently made, our world will continue to drift towards irremediable disequilibrium »; « the thinking which produced the existing information concepts and methods, is no longer relevant or adequate to the present task »; « public opinion, in almost all cases, is national opinion ». From which it follows that : « the task of reaching the largest possible number of specific groups within the national framework must be the responsibility mainly of national authorities rather than the information services of an international organization such as the United Nations.... the task of persuasion must belong to Governments. However, these Governments respond to major national segments of the population — i.e. business, workers, farmers, teachers, religious leaders and youth. Consequently, these groups have a major role to play. There is thus a two-way flow. »