Humber Journalism student Lucy Lau interviews Kenneth Okwir, country director for Internews Uganda, about Internews’s work with Uganda’s refugee population, while Harmony Multani, also a Humber Journalism student, handles camera duties. (Heather Kelly)

Humber Students and Faculty Take Part in International Program to End Violence Against Children

March 13, 2020

Last year we reported on the launch of the Denmark Uganda Vietnam Exchange (DUVE) program.  The DUVE program was created and is led by one of our long-time academic partners, Denmark’s University College Absalon. Dr. Jaspreet Bal Humber’s Faculty of Social and Community Services was invited to lend her expertise to the social education and health program. It aims to tackle the global problem of violence against children. This past January a group of Humber journalism students were invited to develop their skills and help documents DUVE’s work in Uganda.

Humber’s participation in this project represents how enduring international academic partnerships create international learning options for our community, both faculty members and students.

Solving a global problem with global partnerships

Launched in the fall of 2018, DUVE’s mission is to find a solution to the violence against children around the world. By fostering international cooperation, the program is working to leverage the perspectives, specializations, and experiences of higher education professionals to solve this globally prevalent problem.

Seeking to add a Canadian perspective to the initiative, Absalon approached Dr. Bal who is a professor in Humber’s Child and Youth Care program and an expert in the area. Dr. Bal joined a diverse, international panel of interdisciplinary healthcare and childcare professionals. The team is building an online e-learning platform to lend support to families and communities where children are most vulnerable to violence. 

In a further extension of this collaboration, Absalon recently reached out to Humber’s Faculty of Media and Creative Arts and invited students to support the DUVE project’s communications efforts.

Lucy Lau and Harmony Multani, students of Ontario Graduate Certificate in Journalism, travelled to Uganda this January to document and report on DUVE’s work and help create media asset for the program. The students were accompanied by Humber Journalism professor Heather Kelly.

Humber Journalism student Lucy Lau (left) and Journalism Professor Heather Kelly speak to Leilah Bbaale, chief news editor and journalist trainer at Spice FM, a radio station in Hoima, Uganda, that broadcasts information for refugees (Harmony Multani).

The value and impact of international partnerships

Participating in DUVE has provided a chance for faculty and students to contribute their expertise and gain invaluable knowledge and experience working on an applied research project that has both local and global impact.

For Humber students, DUVE provided a unique global learning experience and an opportunity to practice and develop their skills in an international setting. One that closely mirrors the global landscape they will enter as journalism professionals. The students were able to utilize practical skills, such as video content production, in a real-world scenario. They were also able to learn and apply critical theoretical concepts, such as the cultural humility framework, to better understand and mitigate cultural differences as part of their roles as storytellers. 

For faculty, like Dr. Bal, the program continues to offer an opportunity to connect, share, and develop professionally with similarly focused academic colleagues from different parts of the world. “Working as a part of the DUVE team has allowed me to continue to bring the world to my classroom and bring my profession to the world,” says Dr. Bal.

Students of Humber's Ontario Graduate Certificate in Journalism, Harmony Multani (pictured left) and Lucy Lau, capture the sunset during their first night in Kampala. (Heather Kelly)

A context for international cooperation

The DUVE partnership provides not just a context for international cooperation, but also a model with which to leverage diverse perspectives, experiences, and specializations in order to tackle complex, global issues. DUVE is a tremendous demonstration of Humber’s commitment to internationalization and the value of strong partnerships in creating new worldwide learning opportunities for our community at home and abroad.  

Photo captions are taken from the article written by Galvin Zaldivar:

https://humberetc.ca/humber-journalism-students-join-nurses-dealing-with-child-violence-in-uganda/