Vinod Pavarala is Senior Professor of Communication and UNESCO Chair on Community Media at the University of Hyderabad. With a dual background in sociology and media studies and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, his research and teaching have been in the areas of communication for social change, community media, and media and democracy. As one of the leading communication scholars in the country, he has been a visiting faculty at several institutions in India and abroad. At the University of Hyderabad, he has previously served as the Head of the Department of Communication and Dean of the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication.