A two-day international development communication conference on Strategic Security and Health Communication is being organized by the Institute of Development Communication (ISDEVCOM), Nasarawa State University (NSU) for Sustainable Development in Keffi, Nasarawa State on October 28, 2021.
The ISDEVCOM development communication conference which holds from October 28 to 29, 2021, at the university campus, has as its Sub-themes — “Drug abuse and behaviour change communication in Nigeria;’ ‘Strategic Communication as a non-kinetic approach to internal security management,’ and ‘Covid-19 and the new lessons in development communication,’ among others.
The conference is being held against the backdrop of the need for sustainable development, especially in developing countries like Nigeria and in Africa, which has become both imperative and urgent in view of the poor milestones so far recorded in the march towards attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
While the fundamental role of communication in propelling the drive towards sustainable national development is, without doubt, grossly under-explored in Africa, development communication is however, vital in providing a guide for people to have a full understanding of their own needs, their current situation, and their options for change.
Professor Emmanuel Dandaura, the Executive Director of the Institute and convener of the Conference, said that the event which is the third edition, is aimed at reflecting on ways in which development communication can be strategically employed in various spheres of our national life.
He said it would also help to catalyse sustainable national development by engaging stakeholders and policy makers, while promoting information exchange to create positive social change.
“Special focus will be given to participation of government agencies and non-governmental organisations involved in youth mental health, drug abuse and control, maternal and child health, education, family planning, anti-malaria as well as advocacy and intervention for HIV and AIDS, Covid-19,” Dandaura said in a statement by Mr Uzoma Onyegbadue, the
Chairman, Conference Organising Committee and given to Persecondnews.
To deliberate on these issues, he said, the conference is bringing together diverse resource persons from the academia, professionals and practitioners of development communication, policy makers, non-governmental and other civil society organisations, key government institutions and the media, to share knowledge on a wide range of sub-themes.
Expected at the event are the Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, World Bank Nigeria Country Director, Shubham Chaudhuri and the founding Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Otive Igbuzor, who is also the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Senate President.
ISDEVCOM is credited with championing curriculum development in Science Communication in Africa, partnering with Sci-Dev of London under funding support by Robert Bosch Stiftung of Germany.
ISDEVCOM popularised Science Communication in Nigerian universities nationally and also mentored the Makarere University of Uganda as well as other institutions, internationally.
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