Current news

*CommDev Association elects new officers*

The “Communication and Development Association”, an official organization created to help generate ideas for and implement CommDev events and activities and facilitate connections between students, alumni and friends, held its 2009 election and selected its new officers for the 2009 - 2010 year. The election results are as follows:

President: Titus Gwemende
Vice President: Jean Claude Kwitonda
Secretary: Christine Fram
Treasurer: Carolina Novella Centellas

We look forward to being involved in the new association. Congratulations to all the new officers! For any questions, please contact Titus Gwemende at tg843808@ohio.edu.

 

*CommDev's first-ever "Media for Social Change Workshop" to be held April 25-26*

The Communication and Development Studies program held its first-ever “Media for Social Change” Workshop on April 25 - 26, 2008. The two–day event explored how community media has been used to promote social change in developing countries. The workshop looked at both academic and practical aspects of community media, coupling scholarly lectures with hands–on workshops and presentations.

Dr. Clemencia Rodriguez ('91) presented her research on media, women, and violent conflict in Columbia, as well as her work as co–founder of “OURMedia”, an emerging global network with the goal of facilitating a long-term dialogue between academics, activists, practitioners and policy experts around citizens' media initiatives. Pete Tridish, Founder and Director of Prometheus Radio Project, and John Wenz, Communications and Development Coordinator, discussed their work building radio stations for community advocacy and empowerment in Tanzania and other nations in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, as well as their fight to pass policies that will make the airwaves and ICTs available to all people in all places.  The two–day workshop culminated with a hands–on radio transmitter building workshop led by Prometheus Radio Project.

The workshop schedule is as follows:


Friday, April 25

Noon - 1 p.m.
Joint TCOM/CommDev Colloquium Session
Location: 229 RTV
Speaker: Dr. Clemencia Rodriguez
Topic: OURMedia: A Global Network for Citizens' Media
*Open to the general public

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
International Studies Forum
Location: 145 Walter Hall

Speaker: Dr. Clemencia Rodriguez (3pm – 3:45pm)
Topic: The Role of Citizen's Media in the Context of Armed Conflict: The Colombian Case

Speaker: Prometheus Radio Project with Pete Tridish and John Wenz (3:45pm – 4:30pm)
Topic: Community Radio for Advocacy and Empowerment: Prometheus in Tanzania

Q&A session (4:30pm –– 5pm)
*Open to the general public


Saturday, April 26

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Radio Transmitter Building Workshops with Prometheus Radio Project
Location: RTV Building

For more information, please e-mail ln264206@ohio.edu

*Dr. Mario Mosquera new CommDev visiting scholar*

Dr. Mario Mosquera–Vasquez arrived at Ohio University this winter and is currently serving as a visiting research scholar in the CommDev Department. Dr. Mosquera, a Colombia native, completed his graduate work in the UK, receiving an MA in Health Education from Manchester University and a PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He discovered his passion for health communication while working as a health educator on issues surrounding respiratory health and diarrhea in Nicaragua. Dr. Mosquera now has twenty years of experience in the field, having worked on a diverse range of health issues throughout the world.

His presence in the CommDev program is part of an agreement between Universidad del Norte (Colombia), and Dr. Mosquera will be working primarily on three projects during his stay in Athens: Developing a child health component to East Timor’s BCC strategy, preparing and carrying out a baseline study on reproductive health for East Timor, and working with OU’s Institute of Tropical Medicine on issues surrounding Chagas Disease in Ecuador. Dr. Mosquera will also be teaching a course in Fall ’08.

To contact Dr. Mosquera, please e–mail mosquera@ohio.edu.

 

 

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