Report on C4D pre-conference

Communication for Sustainable Rural Development and Social Change - Hyderabad, India, 14 July 2014

The IAMCR pre-conference Communication for Sustainable Rural Development and Social Change was organized by Wageningen University and IAMCR's Participatory Communication Research section in cooperation with Digital Green in India, the universities of Queensland, Reading, Guelph, Van Hall Larenstein and Hong Kong (CityU), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The pre-conference took place on 14 July, immediately prior to the annual conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and took place at the Office of International Affairs at the South Campus of the University of Hyderabad in Hyderabad, India.

The pre-conference brought together scholars and practitioners from around the world, with a substantial presence of Indian colleagues to share experiences in working in the field of Communication for Sustainable Rural Development and Social Change. For many scholars in communication and innovation studies in the life sciences, India is a good case of a country where rural development and agriculture are directly linked to communication processes, including those mediated by technologies such as video and mobile phones. Being hosted by the Indian local organizers provided a unique opportunity to pay attention to issues of communication for rural innovation, food security, equity and access, rural extension and knowledge circulation.

The gathering aimed to share work experiences, theoretical developments and institutional contexts of work. In cooperation with the FAO, special attention was also given to the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF). In addition, the pre-conference aimed to set parts of the agenda for the upcoming activities, collaborations and meetings.

Prepared by Rico Lie (Wageningen University) and Mario Acunzo (FAO), the report of the pre-conference is available for download in PDF format.