William Tayeebwa

William Tayeebwa has completed a doctorate in Communication at Concordia University. He is assistant professor in Journalism and Communication at Makerere University, Uganda [http://llc.mak.ac.ug/staff/96-william-tayeebwa]. He will also rejoin the desk of research and training at the Uganda Media Development Foundation (UMDF), a civil society think tank that conducts training workshops across Uganda targeting media workers that often do not have formal journalism education [http://umdf.co.ug]. Further, Mr. Tayeebwa will continue to provide regular commentary on African issues for national and international media outlets. He will also continue to provide media and communication consultancy for national, regional and international agencies in the broad area of social change communication on health and agriculture, environment and energy, peace and conflict.

**Experience as a Trudeau Scholar**

In addition to offering to me the amazing financial stability during my doctoral studies, the Trudeau scholarship has most certainly accelerated my academic career and professional growth. Within the Trudeau community, I have created professional association with former scholars Dr. Robert Huish as well as Dr. Mark Mattner on joint research/consultancy projects on the African continent. Some of the research with Dr. Huish will feed into academic publications in the near future.

Outside the Trudeau community, the research and networking funding (ATA) helped me to attend conferences in the summer 2008 and 2009 in Sweden, Denmark, Cuba and Mexico where I created professional networks that continue to feed into upcoming projects. I also spent time in summer 2008 at the international peace research institutes in Sweden and Norway where I met professionals that shaped my doctoral research project. Some of the linkages have fed into a joint project I am working on with colleagues at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR, Holland) in conjunction with the Salzburg Global Seminar of Austria and the International Criminal Court in The Hague to start a training programme for journalists on international justice and peacebuilding in East Africa.

Most significantly, the Trudeau funding helped me conduct profound and extensive research on media for peacebuilding in Burundi and Uganda, both systemic-violence-prone countries. In addition to publications, the findings are envisaged to feed into training curricula and modules of journalism institutions in Africa.