K-State professor selected to present at international communication conference

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Source: Nancy Muturi, 785-532-3890, nmuturi@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Sara Shellenberger, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Monday, October 23, 2006

K-STATE PROFESSOR SELECTED TO PRESENT AT INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION CONFERENCE

MANHATTAN -- A passion for service and a belief in communication has one Kansas State University professor packing her bags for Italy.

Nancy Muturi, professor of journalism and mass communications at K-State, has been invited to present her paper on health communications at the first World Congress on Communication for Development. The conference will be Oct. 25-27 in Rome, Italy.

"This is a great honor to me and my school," Muturi said. "I will be joining a team of well-recognized scholars and professionals in this communication field that recognizes the critical role of communication in addressing human needs. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to interact with other participants, learn from their projects and hopefully seek collaboration in future projects."

Muturi will be joining 500 selected participants including scholars, policymakers, funding agencies, researchers and practitioners from around the world with the goal of incorporating the development communication discipline into mainstream development policies and practice.

The congress is organized with support from the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization and the Communication Initiative.

"The congress is one of the landmarks in the communication development field," Muturi said. "We are hoping that through this congress, we will persuade the World Bank and other international funding agencies on the need to invest in the communication field, particularly in communication activities that seek to improve human life, such as poverty, AIDS, other communicable diseases, and gender imbalances. All of these are problems that affect people's quality of life."

Muturi was invited to present at the conference following a competitive review process.

"I was selected based on my research on health and development communication -- specifically the role of information communication technologies in HIV/AIDS prevention," Muturi said. "It was quite competitive because out of the 500 submissions, only a handful were accepted for presentation."

Muturi hopes others will share her passion for development communication and take the initiative to get involved locally.

"Even without traveling internationally, there are many local communities where communication can play a role," Muturi said. "We need to continue to get our students more involved, out of the classroom and newsrooms and into the communities. I hope that in the near future, K-State will be among those recognized for our contribution in addressing the needs of the poor communities right here in Kansas."