Human rights professor Cees Hamelink was awarded The University of Queensland 2012 Emeritus Award for Communication for Social Change on 5 July 2012 in Brisbane, Australia.

UQ's School of Journalism's Centre for Communication for Social Change presents the award annually to recognise the commitment of a prominent international professor in applying the principles of communication for social change. The award celebrates individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to using communication to transform and empower marginalised communities.

 Professor Hamelink is the author of 18 books on communication, culture and human rights. He promotes communication research and advises a number of United Nation's organisations on global media and communication issues. Professor Hamelink's current work aims to improve social communication between humans, who are by nature individualistic. 

“Social communication is all about dialogical engagement and that means really listening to other people,” said Professor Hamelink. “What we really need in our societies is Bonobo communication, which would be disarming, dialogical, far more open and pleasant.” 

Presenting the award, Vice-Chancellor Professor Debbie Terry (seen in the photo above together with Cees Hamelink) said there was a critical need for scholars like Professor Hamelink. “We live in a time of unprecedented global complexity. There is a critical need for scholars, like the eminent Professor Hamelink, to interrogate, understand and advocate for the role of media, information and communication processes in a robust and participatory democracy."

Professor Hamelink has been a long-time advisor and consultant to WACC, which congratulates him on this latest acknowledgement of his pre-eminence in the field.

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