Profile
I am an academic, practice-led researcher, filmmaker and development communication facilitator. I originally studied art and design in the UK and then lived in Nepal for 5 years working in development communication, producing various media like posters, flip charts, films, radio programmes and street drama to support development programmes focused on health, education, agriculture and engineering.
Increasingly uncomfortable with top-down approaches, and influenced by Paulo Freire, I focused my work on participatory methods where communication is a core activity and not an add-on. I completed my PhD in Participatory Development Communication, facilitating inner city youth in Nepal to use community television and street drama to affect positive change in their lives.
Now, my practice-led research focuses on social and environmental issues. I seek to support grassroots marginalised and disadvantaged people, animals and the environment to have a stronger voice in the discussion of issues that directly affect them. I have engaged with various communities in about 20 countries around the world.
I also facilitate relevant workshops, utilising participatory methods that allow stakeholders to share experiences, explore issues, and produce recommendations to enhance sustainable development practice and policy.
Profile
I am an academic, practice-led researcher, filmmaker and development communication facilitator. I originally studied art and design in the UK and then lived in Nepal for 5 years working in development communication, producing various media like posters, flip charts, films, radio programmes and street drama to support development programmes focused on health, education, agriculture and engineering.
Increasingly uncomfortable with top-down approaches, and influenced by Paulo Freire, I focused my work on participatory methods where communication is a core activity and not an add-on. I completed my PhD in Participatory Development Communication, facilitating inner city youth in Nepal to use community television and street drama to affect positive change in their lives.
Now, my practice-led research focuses on social and environmental issues. I seek to support grassroots marginalised and disadvantaged people, animals and the environment to have a stronger voice in the discussion of issues that directly affect them. I have engaged with various communities in about 20 countries around the world.
I also facilitate relevant workshops, utilising participatory methods that allow stakeholders to share experiences, explore issues, and produce recommendations to enhance sustainable development practice and policy.
Profile
Profile
Previous Research
Previous Research
Previous Research
Learning and Teaching
Inspiring Others
I seek to share my work experiences and methodologies to enthuse others, so they might flourish in their own careers and fulfil their full potential whilst promoting positive change in the world. From personal experience I know that students from the fields of art, design, media and film studies have vital roles to play, and that exciting and enriching opportunities exist for them to make meaningful contributions to the lives of others and the sustainable future of our world.
I have delivered development communication training programmes for various development organisations including:
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Annandaban Leprosy Hospital, Nepal
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Action Aid
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Danida (Danish Government Aid Programme)
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International Planned Parenthood Federation
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Kopila Nepal
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The Leprosy Mission Ireland
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The Methodist Relief and Development Fund
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Save The Children Fund
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The United Mission to Nepal
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The Wellcome Trust
Learning and Teaching
I have undertaken the role of Learning and Teaching Coordinator within The School of Art and Design at Ulster University and The Liverpool Screen School at Liverpool John Moores University. Key activities have included:
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Facilitating the transfer of Diploma students onto Level 5 Degree programmes, mapping prior learning.
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Developing a Guidance Document for applying word counts / production length limits in assessment. See right hand column.
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Developing Generic Indicators across arts and media degree programmes to enhance parity; for example, meaning that the generic abilities demonstrated by a '2:1' student in media are consistent with those demonstrated by a '2:1' student in fine art.
International Connections
I helped develop teaching content and methodologies in the early years of the formation of the School of Arts at Kathmandu University, Nepal. I maintain working relationships with Kathmandu University sharing good practice in learning and teaching, and promoting student interaction between Nepal and the UK. A recent funding application, in which I am the Principal Investigator, is in partnership with Kathmandu University and seeks to create opportunities for arts undergraduates in Nepal to document climate change in the Himalayan mountains through film and photography.
Curriculum Development
Post-Graduate Certificate / Masters degree in
Communication for Social Change
I am currently finalising a validated Post-Graduate Certificate in Development Communication. This course will support development-related professionals, community representatives and graduates around the world to explore the principles of participatory communication before applying them in real-life situations in partnership with
marginalised and disadvantaged communities. Participants will submit evidence-informed case-studies of their work, building an open-access web-based resource, year on year, of ethnically-diverse and subject-varied projects.
Utilising a blended learning approach, the course is being validated by a UK institution for delivery in partnership with educational institutions and funding bodies around the world.
Pre-Masters Degree Programme
I am representing the Liverpool Screen School in the development of a Pre-Masters Degree Programme, liaising with colleagues across others Schools in our Faculty. This is a franchised programme of study, delivered by overseas educational partners designed to build the core skills capacity of students, with a pathway onto LJMU Masters Degree programmes. I developed the following conceptual diagram showing the role of link tutors in supporting overseas partners, underpinned by the UK Professional Standards Framework (Advance HE).
I share my working methodologies through publications in relevant social development journals, such as Policy and Practice: a Development Education Review published by The Centre for Global Education in Belfast.
I have researched teaching methodologies in art, design, media and communication. For the ADC Learning and Teaching Support Network I researched and wrote a series of case studies from educational institutions across the UK, promoting good practice.
Publications
