Dr. Maryam Vaziri, Senior Journalist from Iran delivered a special lecture on “The Role of Social Media in Intercultural Communication and Public Diplomacy” at the Faculty of Media Studies and Humanities recently. Students of Journalism and Mass Communication attended the lecture. Mr. Manoj Raut, HOD, Journalism and Mass Communication welcomed the guest and briefed the students about Inter-cultural Communication in modern context.

Dr. Vaziri talked about how the world is using the emerging platforms of social media but unfortunately not everyone knows how to productively and cautiously use it. Due to extreme differences in opinions, discussions often turn brutal and this breaks the society instead of joining bridges. She emphasized the need of respecting and accepting the multicultural world we live in. She said, “Intercultural communication doesn’t just end on talking about one’s culture, but also includes the clothes we wear and the food we eat”.

Dr. Vaziri also motivated the students to learn political communication and diplomacy. “Political Communication does not only mean politicians communicating with each other but with the public at large,” she stated. She said that Social Media is a platform for two-way communication, discussions, debates and exchange of ideas among people from different or same cultural backgrounds. A new connection means new ideas, and new ideas lead to growth.

She also linked the diversity and multiculturalism with e-marketing and discussed how it helps in intercultural communication by reaching out to people of different or the same culture on a global platform for buying and selling products.

Students interacted with Dr. Vaziri and sought answers to their questions. They found the session very useful and interesting Dr. Abhishek Singh, Associate Professor, Journalism and Mass Communication, FMeH proposed Vote of Thanks.