Communication for Development

Abhay Mokashi’s Major Contributions in the profession

He exposed starvation deaths in Kutch, Gujarat and his expose let to creation of 3.5 lakh jobs by the government, in the remote parts of Kutch, plus it gave the people social justice. The Gujarat High Court, the Gujarat Legislative Assembly as well as the Commission of Inquiry, appointed to probe the situation that led to starvation of the people, lauded his work as a journalist. The then Chief Minister of Gujarat would have had to resign for trying to conceal information on the starvations, but was rescued by the Opposition.
His exposure of the manipulation of marks at the MD (Gynaecology and Obstetrics) examination involving the daughter of then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar, led to the resignations of the Chief Minister, the Governor of Maharashtra, the Vice-Chancellor and the Pro-vice-chancellor of Mumbai University.
He exposed flaws in the medical faculty examination of Mumbai University, which led to the reversal of results of over 76 doctors at the post-graduate level, who had been erroneously declared unsuccessful due to the confusion amongst the examiners over the new system

He exposed medical negligence like operation on the wrong patient, medical errors during surgeries, non-functioning of equipement and the like in public hospitals. It was due to his expose that the Mumbai High Court ordered the installation of power generators in public hospitals in Mumbai.
His exposes of safety violations by civil airlines in the country, went unheeded and led to over 11 fatal air crashes in the country in a short span of time, including two on a single day—October 19, 1989—one at Ahmedabad and 45 minutes another in Assam.
He exposed flaws in the medical faculty examination of Mumbai University, which led to the reversal of results of over 76 doctors at the post-graduate level, who had been erroneously declared unsuccessful due to the confusion amongst the examiners over the new system
He has written editorials, political analysis and has written extensively on current events and socio-economic issues; he has interviewed national and international leaders, including Prime Ministers of India and heads of States and Heads of Governments of other countries. He has appeared on several national and international television and radio channels. He has done live political analysis on radio and television during elections.

Communication for Development

Communication for Development (C4D) is defined by World Congress on Communication for Developmental as ‘a social process based on dialogue using a broad range of tools and methods. It is also about seeking change at different levels including listening, building trust, sharing knowledge and skills, building policies, debating and learning for sustained and meaningful change’.

UNICEF defines it as ‘an evidence-based process that utilises a mix of communication tools, channels and approaches to facilitate participation and engagement with children, families, communities, networks for positive. social and behavioural change in both developmental and humanitarian contexts’.

The definitions show the importance of C4D and what role it can play in India and globally in inclusive developmental and social justice. Yet, it does not find a major place in mainstream media.

A large section of the youth is keen on bring about a positive change in the country by ensuring social justice and inclusive developmental. With right training in C4D and its use, this section of the youth would be able to write on such issues, work in NGOs, set-up their NGOs or even work in the corporate world to take up the right issues as part of CSR activities; some may even launch their own communication channels.

Unfortunately, there aren’t too many institutes offering good training on such an important aspect of learning and communication.

Keeping the need in mind, AAMRAS has announced the C4D course.

Features

Course Objectives

The Communication for Development is an apt course for aspiring journalists, who wish to specialise in journalism, which speaks covers aspects, generally neglected or ignored by the mainstream media. The course will also help those who wish to work in the social sector, either work with non-governmental organisations or independently. The course will help learners hone skills to be good journalists and good communicators. The course will expose them to various issues concerning development in the country and train them to act on the issues for the betterment of the society and the affected people.

Employment Opportunities

The course will help students to be niche journalists, writing about various developmental issues, Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations, as well as issues related to gender, children, hate crime and the like. The course will equip the students for various career options like NGO sector, corporate communication, CSR and change makers, apart from journalism. With the exposure to basics of film making, they would be able to make short documentaries. Those completing the course stand a chance to play a role in the socio-economic development in the country, as well as to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations.

OPERATIONS

Attendance

Students with less than 75 per cent attendance in three or more modules/sub-modules will not qualify for the Diploma, irrespective of their academic grades. Click here for C4D Course Content Click here to apply for admission