If you missed this year’s IAMCR conference, here is your chance to watch the presentations of the recipients of the IAMCR (International Association for Media and Communication Research)/FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Rural Communication Services (RCS) Research Awards during the 2024 IAMCR Conference held in Christchurch, New Zealand on July 4, 2024.
The RCS awardees
Ibnu Budiman of Bogor Agriculture University, Indonesia was recognized for his paper titled “Group model building as a rural communication process supporting innovation adoption in agriculture”, which highlighted the function of Group Model Building or GMB as a potent tool for improving rural communication processes. According to him, GMB will be achieved through promoting dialogue, fostering mutual understanding, identifying challenges and potential solutions, enhancing decision-making, fostering ownership and empowerment, and supporting stakeholders in networking and collaboration.
Moreover, Tim Fry, from the University of Reading UK, was recognized for his research paper on “ Strengthening Innovation Structures as a Pathway to Weave People Together Around Shared Priorities: Perspectives from an Agricultural Innovations System Diagnostic in Mpumalanga, South Africa”. He highlighted the need for a greater emphasis on creating multi-stakeholder and multi-level communication processes that unite diverse actors around shared priorities and provide them with complementary access to resources, skills, and knowledge in order to combat novel and ongoing wicked problems in an equitable manner.
Fry also discussed how to weave people together around common goals. He furthered that to move away from primarily hierarchical education and researcher structures, there is a need to develop curricula that respond to the needs of the real world, make use of experiential learning sites from across the food system, and reflect new ways of organizing within and between systems.
Another awardee, Paolo Mefalopulos, talked about his paper titled “Enhancing the Functions of Rural Communication Services to Promote Innovations through the Multidimensional Model for Change.” His study aimed to give a framework for improving RCS efficacy by situating them within the Multidimensional Model for Change.
According to Mefalopulos, communication for promoting change at an individual level could only be successful if key elements of the context are in place.
“Rural communication services are key to empower stakeholders and help improve their livelihoods, especially when communication channels, techniques, and their functions are strategically applied according to the multidimensional model for change,” he said.
Mefalopulos also explained that the multidimensional model for change maps the essential components required to guarantee the favorable conditions necessary for the desired acceptance of the innovation or behavior modification. He added that the application of Rural Communication Services should be based on the various aspects and the desired goals, bearing in mind the horizontal and participatory nature of communication.
The recipients of the IAMCR/FAO Rural Communication Services (RCS) Research Awards were also recognized during a special session of the 2024 IAMCR Conference held on July 3, 2024.For more information, visit the IAMCR’s feature about the awardees.
Dr. Elske Van de Fliert, representative of IAMCR RUC, presents the Certificates of Recognition to (left to right) Ibnu Ubdiman of Bogor Agriculture University; Tim Fry of University of Reading UK; and Paulo Mefalopulos of UNICEF Chile during the special session/IAMCR awarding held on July 3, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Photo Credit: IAMCR.Article contributed by Thesa Elaine Mallo, CCComDev Intern
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