UNESCO (Paris) has formally renewed the term of the UNESCO Chair on Community Media at the Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad for a further period of four years, until December 2019.
The Chair was set up in 2011 to promote the cause of community media through research, policy advocacy, capacity building, and knowledge dissemination. Led by the Chair-holder, Prof. Vinod Pavarala and with the support of a core team consisting of faculty fellows, Dr. Kanchan K. Malik and Mr. Vasuki Belavadi, the Chair has endeavored to fulfill this mandate during the last four years.
In a letter of appreciation to the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Dr. Guy Berger, Director, Freedom of Expression and Media Development, UNESCO, wrote: “The Chair has done excellent work in promoting the cause of community media in South Asia and in the rest of the world for the past four years. UNESCO is proud to acknowledge the Chair’s achievements, which have enabled to diversify and strengthen its array of activities related to community media in the region and have been recognized worldwide.”
Much of this could be achieved through the support, cooperation, and encouragement that we received from the University of Hyderabad, the UN system and other multilateral agencies, fellow researchers, various national and international community media networks, the Government of India, and from scores of dedicated community media practitioners in India and elsewhere. It is heartening that the Chair’s work has been accorded much credibility and respect by practitioners and policymakers alike. Please accept our sincere thanks for all your support, says Prof. Vinod Pavarala.
Follow this link for a summary by the Chair-holder and a detailed four-year report of the Chair’s activities:
http://uccommedia.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/UNESCO-CHAIR_FOUR-YEAR-REPORT_1.pdf