For the second day of our “Communication for Social Change: Intersections of Theory & Praxis” conference, CARE had the honour of having Professor Collins O. Airhihenbuwa as the opening keynote speaker along with Dr. Ambar Basu and Professor Barbara Sharf to deliver the plenary sessions. We also had 2 different panel sessions on “Theoretical Articulations of Social Change” and “Social Change Methodologies” presented by different speakers from around the region.
Leadership for Social Justice in Global Health Communication: Why Culture Matters
Earlier this year, CARE held its first conference “Communication for Social Change: Intersections of Theory & Praxis” and it was a successful turnout. We had high profile speakers, conference participants from around the region and community members to grace the event and everyone learnt a lot from the 3 days of sharing knowledge and experiences with one another. In case you missed it, here are some recordings for the first day of the conference. Watch this space for the recordings of the rest of the days.
Poetography
Introductory Talk by Conference Chair
Disrupting Sites of Power : Lecture Demonstration and Performance for Social Change
We were graced with the presence of Professor Teresa Thompson who shared with us her insights and experiences on various aspects of health communication. Spanning over 3 days, the workshop has given the participants a chance to interact with Professor Thompson and share their related experiences with her. If you have missed the workshop, here is your chance to catch up with what you have missed.
DAY 01 – Health Communication: Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary, Transdisciplinary Covering the history of the development of the field of Health Communication and the many perspectives that are brought to bear in the study of the interrelationships of communication, health, and health care delivery, this workshop will also emphasize relevant publication outlets and key trends in the field. Practical application and dissemination of research will be an important focus.
DAY 02 – Health Risk Communication: New Challenges for the World Health Organization The World Health Organization is undertaking the development of empirically-based risk guidelines for addressing health epidemics and natural disasters. This workshop will focus upon the directions this project is taking and how these guidelines will be used.
DAY 02 – Health Communication Campaigns: Audiences, Messages, Effects Health campaign research has grown to be one of the biggest areas of areas of study in Health Communication. This workshop will emphasize theoretical bases for campaigns, the development and testing of messages, and implementation of change initiatives.
DAY 03’s session was not recorded as it was a sharing session between Prof Teresa and the participants.
Our director, Prof Mohan Dutta, has written an op-ed piece featured on The Straits Times which talks about what inspired him to attain this spirit of always questioning and going back to the evidence, however incomplete or uncertain. He feels that the language of science is being used to shut out conversations or to push notions of development rather than creating a space to question any assumptions and beliefs on the basis of evidence.
“To question means to hold our existing values and beliefs to scrutiny. The spirit of scienceis also public, subjecting scientific claims to public deliberation and examination. Thus, transparency and debate are two key elements of the scientific process.”
In this video, Prof. Mohan addresses the issue of Information Inequality within the context of policies and agreements that impact human health. There are only certain information that is made accessible to the public regarding these policies and the decisions made within agreements usually involve very little public participation. Prof Mohan argues that these two elements have very important health consequences that are not being argued about, and thus the need for more democratic spaces.
Influencers. A new community of people on social media that has taken the online world by storm and creating a whole new phenomenon, especially with the recent online spat between Xiaxue and Gushcloud. In this article, Prof Mohan gives his opinion on this concept and how it has changed the current digital climate. Follow the link below to read more on this story.
Our “Respect Our Rights” campaign was covered during the 938 Live “They are Making a Difference” segment. The campaign, conceived by Prof. Mohan Dutta, is aimed at changing the perceptions and raising awareness of the plight of foreign domestic workers in Singapore.
Take a listen to the clip below as Prof Mohan talks about the campaign with DJ Daphne Lim.