Elske van de Fliert obtained a PhD in Communication and Innovation Studies from Wageningen University, The Netherlands, in 1993.She joined the UQ School of Journalism and Communication in July 2006, prior to which she was based in various countries in Southeast Asia for almost two decades, where she worked for the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO), the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research’s International Potato Centre (CGIAR CIP), The Duta Wacana University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and as a freelance consultant.

She was involved in research, development and teaching assignments in Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya and Uganda. Her main research interests are in the areas of participatory development communication and impact assessment of sustainable rural development and social change. She manages two ACIAR funded research projects in Vietnam and Indonesia.

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As an activist scholar who worked formerly with the international media NGO, WACC, Pradip has travelled widely throughout the world and has been involved in the planning and evaluation of community media projects including community radio in Haiti. He played a key role in the Communication Rights in the Information Society campaign linked to the World Summit on the Information Society. He has been a frequent key note speaker at international media conferences and is at present the Vice President, Participatory Communications Section, IAMCR.

He is on the editorial council of a number of journals including Media Development, Journal of Creative Communications, Communication for Development and Social Change, Journalism and Communication Monographs and the International Journal of Press/Politics. He is presently involved in an ACIAR research project in Vietnam on Participatory Communications in which he is specifically exploring Indigenous Knowledge Systems and agricultural practices among hill communities.

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With a background in Entomology and Plant and Food Sciences, Oleg Nicetic has shifted his focus on the communication, partnership, and processes required for changes in agricultural production practices leading to social and individual change in rural communities. Qualifications include a Bachelor with Honours degree in Horticulture from the University of Zagreb and a Master of Science in Entomology from the University of Sydney; Oleg is currently in the final phases of completing his PhD from the University of Queensland focusing on the role of communication and partnership in agricultural research and development in Vietnam.

Lauren Leigh Hinthorne holds a PhD in Politics (2011) and an MA in Conflict, Governance and Development (2005), both from the University of York, UK. Her doctoral research investigated the nexus of international democracy assistance objectives and non-elite perceptions of democracy in eastern Madagascar. While conducting field research, she designed and piloted an innovative visual research tool – the VINE technique – for exploring the ways in which ordinary people understand their socio-political environment and relating these perceptions to specific policy goals. Other research projects have examined implementation of the Kimberley Process in post-conflict Sierra Leone and the effectiveness of international food aid.

Her principal research interests include visual and participatory research methods; development assistance policy; and policy monitoring and evaluation (M&E) procedures, objectives and outcomes. She has previously worked in a research capacity at a US Embassy, the British House of Commons and a trade publication on politics and policy, and has teaching experience in the areas of international development, politics, and social science research methods.
 

Christine’s field experience is largely based in the Pacific working with civil society organisations through community development and organisational development initiatives and volunteering for Australian Business Volunteers in capacity building and program evaluation roles. In 2008 she completed a Masters in Development Practice after returning from long term assignments in Papua New Guinea managing and coordinating AusAID funded programs. 

Recently she was contracted as a project design specialist, developing operational manuals and guidelines for a grant scheme funded by the World Bank for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. The project, named the Inclusive Development in Post-Conflict Bougainville Project, aims to contribute to the rebuilding of post-conflict social capital at the community level, strengthening the role of women in post-conflict community development processes.  

Christine was born in PNG and having grown up on Bougainville she maintains close links with indigenous and faith-based organisations working to address social issues in the region.