MICA’s Centre for Development Management and Communication (CDMC) co-led a training programme with The World Bank on ‘Leadership communication for reform: Managing high-profile development projects.’ The programme was held in Bangkok from April 22 to 24. It was exclusively designed for senior civil service officers from six South Asian countries — India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The participants currently lead high-profile development projects in diverse sectors such as health, water and sanitation, refugee programmes, education, energy, wildlife conservation and agriculture. They engaged in sessions addressing stakeholder mapping and engagement, crisis communication, media engagement and political economy of reform.
Communication as a tool
Renowned international speakers Sina Odugsbemi, Director, Magellan Strategies Ltd; Patricia Riley, Professor, Annenberg School of Communication; R. Chandrashekhar, former President, NASSCOM; and Naysan Sahba, Director of communication, UNEP, graced the event. Experts from MICA and the World Bank were also present.
Interactive sessions with participants were designed to strengthen their capacity to use communication as a strategic tool in the implementation of complex, high-visibility development projects and for policy reforms. The participants said the workshop gave them valuable insights about the process of communication.