A Few Words by the Founder
Development is much more than that which is visible and external… How to put together that which participating players need, or make them become aware of them? It is exactly these questions that have led to the creation of Echos Communication. During my first involvement in development cooperation, I quickly noticed many inconsistencies within the system. I was taking part in an agricultural project in West Africa where local competence and knowhow was completely ignored: everything was foreign, without the slightest regard towards locals. The benchmark for success mostly focused on efficiency, technicity and profitability… These goals should have been called into questions but that never happened.
Nowadays, much has changed but those same burdens still exist! Developing nations are asserting themselves and are fully exercising their rights. Economic relationships are very different and proper human encounters are possible. A lot of projects take local knowhow, culture, history, heritage and dynamics in consideration. On the other hand, a bit of pessimism is all that would be needed to identify the reappearance of all the past mistakes and abuses. Furthermore, the list of useless projects is still very long…
The more we impose, the tougher the task becomes achievable… Allowing more freedom is what will lead to locals being more open, and developing their abilities and realizing their potentials. It is time to adopt approaches from which everybody will benefit, fostering better collaborations…
François Milis,
Founder of Echos Communication