About the Talk:
Stories have the unique power and nuance to describe people’s behavior and interactions, and their consequences; this talk by Andrew Whaley explores story-telling embedded in theories of Social and Behavior Change Communication, traditionally known as ‘entertainment-education’. Currently, a course based on this concept ‘Stories that Matter: Communication for Social Change’ is being offered at Habib University that addresses empathy through entertainment-education and aims to help build stories and characters that resonate with the audience and move them towards behavior change. This course is in collaboration with Center for Communication Programs Pakistan, a sister organisation of Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Center is a premier institution in Pakistan that exclusively excels in the study and practice of development communication.
The talk will be followed by a panel discussion as well as a Q&A.
About the Speaker:
Andrew Whaley writes plays for stage, screen and radio. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, he cut his teeth as a journalist at the time of Zimbabwe’s independence. He felt compelled to write the stories of an emerging nation and worked with a community of artistes throughout the 80s and 90s exploring post-independent society through drama. Works include The Rise & Shine of Comrade Fiasco, and Human Tales, Meteoric Trails, which fused contemporary dance with poetic musings on the state of rage in a young nation.
After 2000 his career took another direction when he moved to Cape Town, South Africa and began working with artistes and writers across the African continent on long-running serial dramas for radio and television, many of them public health initiatives in a time of HIV/AIDS. In 2016 he collaborated with CCPP and MD Productions, Karachi, in the creation of HUM TV series, Sammi.
Panelists:
Dr Atif Ikram Butt is a social and behavior change communication specialist with more than 15 years of leadership experience. He has worked on national and overseas assignments with some of the most renowned international aid and humanitarian organizations including Department for International Development, German Society for International Cooperation, International Labor Organization, United Nations Development Program, Johns Hopkins University and most recently with the United Nations Children’s Fund. He is currently heading Center for Communication Programs Pakistan [CCPP] as its Executive Director.
He has expertise in use of all forms of media, communication research, partnership building, knowledge management and advocacy, especially in application of theory and use of evidence in practice of development communication. He has a doctorate degree in International Development Studies from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany; his doctoral research is focused on the concept of ideation and its influence on policy-making.
Natasha Ejaz is Research Specialist at the CCPP, with over ten years of experience in media and communications related fields. She has a degree in Masters of International Relations from the University of Melbourne where her focus was to understand Pakistan’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan. On her return, she worked on a USAID project in Pakistan and prior to that managed and implemented various educational and advocacy programs at the United Nations Association of Australia, Victorian Division. She started her career at Daily Times whilst studying in NCA, Lahore.
Haya Fatima Iqbal is an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker based in Pakistan. She directs, produces, and shoots films all across Pakistan. Her work often revolves around human rights issues as well as on the impact of violence on society and its people. She is also interested in covering ethnic subcultures across the globe. Haya has worked with CNN, BBC, Channel 4 UK, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Deutsche Welle (DW), Huffington Post, Dawn, and Geo News among other media organizations. She teaches the “Stories that Matter: Communication for Social Change” at Habib University.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Saima Zaidi, Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Communication and Design at Habib University.
