What makes a topic “development-oriented?”

“Development” comes in different forms. The definition of development for one person can entirely different for another. In this context, recognizing and writing development-oriented topics can be challenging.

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Where does one go when he/she finds himself in an unfamiliar place? Any sensible person would know that to get back on track, he/she ought to ask guidance from people who already took the same path. This action would not only let that person know where to go but would also allow him to know how to get there.

In order to write about a development-oriented topic or even just to identify one, we should be able to know what encompasses it and what are the conditions for a topic to be “development-oriented”. Accordingly, I asked 2 upperclass students of DevComm in UPLB to share their insights on the task at hand.

According to Rainielle Kyle Guison (Batch 2018), she considers something to be development-oriented already if it emanates the presence of development . She also gave emphasis that development-oriented things are those centered to help, especially the marginalized. This was also mentioned in our lecture class, that for something to be considered development-oriented, it should always start from bottom-up or coming from the field where development is primarily oriented for. Most commonly, this field comes in the form of the marginalized sectors.

In addition, Nur Lemuel Castillo shared his ideas about development-oriented topics which are as follows:
1. A topic is development-oriented if in promotes any of the 4 Es of Devcom
2. A topic is development-oriented if it deals with stories of marginalized communities
3. A topic is development-oriented is it tackles open ended issue.

The ideas mentioned above are just some of the many ways on how we can define what a development-oriented topic is. Throughout the course of DEVC 11 (or any other course that is), we shall continue to learn more and broaden our idea about what development is and more importantly, how it should materialize in the way that is favorable for people of all status.