\t\t![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SAMCS-2026-Opening-Keynote.jpg\")
Michael R. Ogden, dean emeritus of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University in Dubai, delivered\u202fthe opening keynote address at the 12th annual SAMCS Conference Thursday, Jan. 29, at The Globe Auditorium. (Jalisa Redding\/Center for Global Engagement)\t\t<\/p>\n
Florida State University\u2019s\u202fCollege of Communication and Information<\/a>\u202fhosted the 12th annual\u202fSouth Asian Media and Cultural Studies (SAMCS) Conference<\/a>, a premier international forum for researchers, scholars and practitioners engaged in dialogue surrounding media and culture in South Asia.<\/p>\n The\u202fhybrid event Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 took place\u202fat The Globe Auditorium and online at the\u202fCollege of Communication and Information\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>\u00a0and the\u202fSAMCS YouTube channel<\/a>.\u202fAttendees from around the world joined both in-person and virtually to discuss topics including contemporary challenges in journalism, cultural preservation and resilience, different demographic groups\u2019 media engagement and identity expression through media in South Asia.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s conference theme \u201cResilience and Renewal: Tradition, Innovation, and Media Futures in South Asia\u201d explored the role of media and communications in preserving identity, sharing\u202fknowledge\u202fand responding to change across local,\u202fIndigenous\u202fand urban communities.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Michael R. Ogden, dean emeritus of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University in Dubai, delivered\u202fthe keynote address, \u201cIndigenous Responses to South Asia\u2019s Climate Crisis,\u201d that focused on Indigenous documentary, climate resilience and the role of South Asian perspectives in shaping global media futures.<\/p>\n An accomplished scholar,\u202fstoryteller\u202fand documentary filmmaker originally from Oregon, Ogden served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji before earning a Ph.D. in political science and pursuing an academic career. His\u202fwork focuses on Indigenous communities, media and long-term responsibility in the context of a changing climate.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we are serious about the theme of this conference \u2014 resilience and renewal, tradition, innovation and media futures in South Asia \u2014 then we owe the pathfinders a new politics of representation,\u201d\u202fhe\u202fsaid.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n He explained that the challenges faced by the world today really have to do with how we think about time.\u202fThrough examples from South Asia,\u202fOgden\u202fdemonstrated\u202fthe\u202fSeventh Generation\u202fprinciple, an Indigenous philosophy that says every decision made today should consider its impact on people living seven generations in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you make a decision today, you are accountable to\u202fdescendants\u202fseven generations into the future,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we assume that one human generation is\u202froughly 25\u202fyears,\u202fthat\u2019s\u202fa decision horizon of\u202fnearly 175\u202fyears.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n The conference continued Friday, Jan. 30, with opening remarks from\u202fMichelle\u202fKazmer, dean of the College of Communication and Information.<\/p>\n \u201cThis marks the 12th\u202fyear that a group of students, faculty, alumni and friends have worked together to organize this important forum,\u201d\u202fKazmer said\u202f\u201cI hope that this is a chance to learn more about South Asia, make new connections,\u202fget in touch with old friends, and to build relationships with colleagues from around the world.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n The program consisted of four presentation panels, where speakers representing universities from around the world including countries like India, Pakistan,\u202fBelgium\u202fand Bangladesh spoke on\u202ftopics ranging from media innovation in South Asia to resilience and representation.\u202fThe panels are available to watch on the\u202fSAMCS YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n Taimur Shamil, a\u202fnational security and foreign policy expert from Pakistan\u202fand based in New York, delivered the closing keynote.\u202fHis talk,\u202f\u201cThe Narrative Power: Mapping South Asian Think Tanks and Their Influence on Policy Formulation,\u201d\u202ffocused on\u202fhow\u202fSouth Asian think tanks shape public debate and influence policy formation.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThink tanks are the architects of reality,\u201d Shamil said.<\/p>\n He described South Asia as\u202fa politically complex region shaped by geography, security\u202fdisputes\u202fand development challenges,\u202fand argued that think tanks\u202fhelp create the language and data used in public debate. During the\u202fquestion-and-answer\u202fportion\u202fof his talk, Shamil emphasized the importance of grassroots engagement\u202fand including multiple perspectives while\u202facknowledging\u202fongoing concerns about bias and how research gets translated into real policy.<\/p>\n \u201cIdeas actually generate from the grassroots level, and a researcher must be connected with the people because that is where the ideas are,\u201d he said.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n From journalism and film to digital storytelling, strategic communications and grassroots media, the conference included a range of perspectives on how tradition and innovation intersect in everyday practice.<\/p>\n \u201cThis annual conference brings together students, scholars and practitioners to create space for deeper understanding and long-term collaboration,\u201d said Steve McDowell, FSU\u2019s assistant provost for International Initiatives and interim dean of The Graduate School. \u201cThe conversations that happen here continue to shape research, teaching and global engagement at FSU, in South Asia, and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n McDowell, who also serves as the John H. Phipps Professor of Communication in the College of Communication and Information, planned the conference alongside a committee led by Vaibhav\u202fDiwanji, a research assistant professor at the University of Kansas and two-time\u202falumnus\u202fof\u202fFSU\u2019s\u202fSchool of Communication<\/a>. Originally from India,\u202fDiwanji\u202fsaid\u202fhe\u2019s\u202fproud to continue offering a global platform that brings together scholars,\u202fpractitioners\u202fand policymakers without any registration cost.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an FSU alumnus, it\u2019s especially meaningful to see this space continue to grow as a platform for dialogue, collaboration and new ways of thinking about media and culture in South Asia\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The conference was also hosted in collaboration with the\u202fCollege of Social Sciences and Public Policy\u2019s<\/a>\u202fRuth K. Shepard Broad International Lecture Series and the\u202fCenter for Global Engagement\u2019s<\/a>\u202fEngage Your World Speaker Series.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u202fconference\u202falso included a photo exhibit and book launch highlighting the work of Kids of Kathmandu, a nonprofit organization connected to Bhushan Dahal, a doctoral candidate from Nepal pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy at the FSU Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences<\/a>. The photos and book document a decade of the organization\u2019s work building schools in Nepal in partnership with local\u202fcommunity groups.<\/p>\n The\u202fannual\u202fevent\u202faims to spark\u202fnew ideas, conversations and scholarly collaborations through engaging presentations,\u202fdiscussions\u202fand shared experiences to celebrate and amplify underrepresented voices in South Asia, and beyond. The modern nations of South Asia include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,\u202fPakistan\u202fand Sri Lanka.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n To learn more about the College of Communication and Information at FSU, visit\u202fcci.fsu.edu<\/a>.\u202fFor more information about the SAMCS Conference, visit\u202fcomm.cci.fsu.edu\/faculty-research\/south-asian-media-studies\/south-asian-media-studies-conference\/<\/a>.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael R. Ogden, dean emeritus of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University in Dubai,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[56740,62375,56743,56745,56749,65269,232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-144555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-anne-spencer-daves-college-of-education-health-and-human-sciences","9":"tag-center-for-global-engagement","10":"tag-college-of-communication-and-information","11":"tag-college-of-social-sciences-and-public-policy","12":"tag-fsu-global","13":"tag-south-asian-media-and-cultural-studies","14":"tag-tallahassee","15":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","16":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Organizers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2026-SAMCS-Group-Photo.jpg\")
Organizers of the 12th annual SAMCS Conference with the keynote speakers onstage at The Globe Auditorium. (Bhushan Dahal)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/webSAMCS-2026-Zoom-1.jpg\")
The hybrid event took place both in-person at The Globe Auditorium and online at the College of Communication and Information\u2019s YouTube channel and the SAMCS YouTube channel. (Vaibhav\u202fDiwanji)<\/p>\n![\"Taimur](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Closing-Keynote-SAMCS-2.jpg\")
Taimur Shamil, a\u202fnational security and foreign policy expert from Pakistan\u202fand based in New York, delivered the closing keynote address at the 12th annual SAMCS Conference Friday, Jan. 30, at The Globe Auditorium. (Jalisa Redding\/Center for Global Engagement)<\/p>\n![\"Bhushan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Bhushan-talking-to-attendees.jpg\")
Bhushan Dahal, a doctoral candidate in Anne\u2019s College, talks to attendees about the photo exhibit and book launch highlighting the work of Kids of Kathmandu, a nonprofit organization that build schools in Nepal. (Jalisa Redding\/Center for Global Engagement)<\/p>\n