Helen Hambly Odame has gathered almost 30 years of experience in international agricultural research, communication and capacity development. She spent eight years working for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research before joining the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at OAC as a professor. She has promoted some of the most notable initiatives in rural development and agriculture communications in Ontario and globally.

“What is really special about OAC is that we have an extremely strong reputation as leaders for agriculture and rural development in Ontario, Canada and globally. I am proud to be a part of a group that really cares about international agriculture and contributes to research and development at a global level.”  – Helen Hambly Odame

Hele recognized the significance of rural radio in Canadian history and has utilized it in countries such as Africa, Asia and Latin America as a method of communication. She introduced Radio+ to many countries as a method of using mobile devices to source information and communicates through radio infrastructure. Radio+ allows listeners to contact radio stations to connect with experts to answer questions related to rural and agri-food businesses. She is also involved in efforts to enhance the availability and use of ultra-high speed Internet in rural southern Ontario.

Helen is responsible for teaching several courses at the undergraduate and graduate level that are often eye opening experiencing for students, enabling them to communicate more effectively with the world. Hele connects her extension initiatives with her courses by requiring students to complete multimedia projects while working with community organizations in helping them to communicate internally and externally.

Helen is a founding member of the Gender, Agriculture and Rural Development in the Information Society (GenARDIS). She is the vice-president of Journalists for Human Rights [1], past vice-president of Farm Radio International [2] and is a member of the International Advisory Committee for the African Farm Radio Research Initiative. She is also a member of the Consortium for Communication for Social Change University Network and Global Classroom [3] initiative with partner universities in South Africa, Sweden and Australia.

References and Further Reading

• "Helen Hambly Odame", https://www.uoguelph.ca/sedrd/users/helen-hambly-odame [4]

Posted on September 18, 2014