Educational communication and digital media Tools for citizen participation and empowerment in the rational use of water

Abstract

This article shows the result of an educational communication strategy called “Territorio InaGOTAble”, formulated with the objective to contribute toward the strategic empowerment of citizens regarding the rational use of water resources, within the framework of the program “Escuela del Agua, Territorio y Paz” of the Empresa de Obras Sanitarias del municipio de Pasto- Colombia- EMPOPASTO S.A. E.S.P., in the south of Colombia. The strategy was developed by applying two types of diagnosis: one, of a social nature, through the development of a forum for citizen participation; and another, of a corporate na-ture, through an in-depth approach to the “Water School, Territory and Peace” program, led by the Socio-Environmental sub-management of the Empresa de Obras Sanitarias de Pasto. Through strategic communication planning based on digital media, graphic and audio-visual pieces were generated with innovative educational content, which allowed discovering new consumption dynamics and the ra-tional use of water, which brought corporate management closer to the citizens. For their part, citizens actively participated in the educational strategy, generating co-responsibility in the management of communication regarding the rational use of water resources.