About the International Communication Enhancement Center
About the International Communication Enhancement Center
The International Communication Enhancement Center (ICEC) was established in 1986 at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM) to foster informational exchange and ongoing dialogue among students, faculty and professionals in the field of international health communication. Support for the Center has come from various sources including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Department of International Health and Development.
The ICEC is directed by Professor Jack Ling, former Director of Information and Communication at UNICEF and Director of Public Information and Education at WHO. In addition to overseeing the ICEC, Professor Ling is a full-time clinical faculty member in the Department of International Health and Development where he teaches a variety of health communication and advocacy courses. Assisting Professor Ling is the ICEC coordinator, a full-time staff member, and 6-8 student workers.
The ICEC has a five-fold mission:
1. Instruction: ICEC offers communication courses as part of the regular SPHTM curriculum for health communication and education majors as well as those interested in international health. The Center also provides communication modules as part of other SPHTM courses. In addition, audio tapes for self-study language courses are available on loan.
2. Resource Collection: ICEC collects international communication and education materials about international health and development and makes them available to students and faculty for study and research. Such materials include reports, documents, periodicals, slides, posters, tapes and videos. Since the international health communication field is vast and fast-expanding, the Center assembles only a representative pool of materials. In addition, the Center establishes contacts with and develops access to various national and international organizations and bodies for referrals.
- the ICEC Resource Library,located on the 22nd floor of the Tulane School of Public Health, maintains subscriptions to more than 40 periodicals and over 5000 books, reports, annual updates, documents and videos related to international health issues (especially primary health care and child survival). The library is staffed by student workers and volunteers who are overseen by the ICEC Coordinator. It is open Monday - Friday.
3. Projects and Consulting Services: As a base of international activities, ICEC works closely with Tulane's Center for International Health and Development, SPHTM's International Health Academic Program, the Department of Tropical Medicine and other units which undertake international public health programs. The Center serves as the technical resource in communication for these programs.
-Social Mobilization Training and Research Program: In cooperation with UNICEF and with technical support from WHO, UNFPA and UNDP, ICEC is launching a special academic program that will address the training and research needs of social mobilization, a development process gaining significant attention in the international development community. The social mobilization specialist will need a broad technical base with knowledge and understanding of multiple topics including health communication and education, advocacy, policy formulation, program development, monitoring and evaluation, personnel management, health economics and information systems.
Initially, training will take place at Tulane and will be modeled along the lines of an executive track study program. A number of developing country institutions will be linked to Tulane in order to eventually globalize the training and research efforts.
- The UNICEF Video Clearinghouse: ICEC is currently administering a Child Survival Video Clearinghouse for UNICEF. The creation of the Clearinghouse was prompted by the large number of videos produced by country offices which remain unknown outside of their country of origin. Many of the programs are very creative and useful for advocacy, education or training purposes.
The Clearinghouse collects, reviews and catalogues approximately 500 productions. A summary of selected videos and their purpose, content and technical information is published twice annually in a newsletter to be sent to UNICEF country offices, National Committees and other professional organizations.
- International Communication Enhancement Center (ICEC): The International Communication Enhancement Center was established in 1986 by the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM) to foster informational exchange and ongoing dialogue among students, faculty and professionals in the field of international health communication. Support for the Center has come from various sources including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
ICEC acts as a mechanism to promote the integration of theory and practice in international health communication and education. Operating on the premise that effective dissemination of information and two-way communication are essential elements for health education and behavior change, the Center believes that the more proficient communicators health professionals become, the more effective they will be as practitioners and researchers.
4. Media Production and Training:ICEC has limited production facilities for slide sets and simple training videos. The equipment and facilities are used mainly for training and acquainting students with some aspects of production.
5. Enrichment:ICEC organizes lectures and seminars on international health and communication issues and workshops for communication skills. Expert resources from Tulane as well as from city, state, national and international institutions, are drawn upon as required for such services.
Page Last Updated: 07/03/03
