The Moody College of Communication launched a new center on Oct. 30 to research how media influences global change and to develop strategies to improve global communication.

The initiative, named the Center for Global Change and Media, will combine outreach, interdisciplinary research and creative activity to tackle some of the most critical international issues, said director and founder Celeste González de Bustamante.

“We want to be a space for students who are interested in global issues and social change,  (and also) creating more belonging in the college for faculty and students,” Bustamante said.

According to its website, the Center relaunched the Moody Scholars for Social Change Program for the 2024-25 academic year, allowing Moody undergraduates to have the opportunity to do research and engage with their community.

“We work in tandem with a non-profit called E4 Youth to illuminate hidden history within Austin,” said Kellen Sharp, assistant director of Moody Scholars for Social Change. “This year we’re looking at the Rosewood Courts, one of the first African American housing projects that’s located in Austin.” 

The center also has a mentorship program to support international students, according to the website.

“Sometimes international students arrive really shy and live in a culture shock,” said Silvia DalBen Furtado, a graduate assistant for Bustamante and the Center. “There are many layers of things that you may have to go through to really adapt … so having the center not just to help you during this process, but also support you on the research you came here to do is really good.”

Bustamante said she and Center Associate Director Shiv Ganesh also sponsor a new global communications minor, which any UT student can add. 

“So much of what we do in the media and communication space is informed by North American, and especially U.S., conceptions of what good communication is,” Ganesh said. “The ethos of the center is (that) by reaching out, we will understand and shift what counts as (good communication).”

The center also funds different research projects, with a current focus on how to de-bias AI, Bustamante said.

“In the end, it’s about educating the public (and) people within and beyond the University, about various different parts of the world with stories that haven’t been told or have been told in a certain way,” Bustamante said. “It’s about representation. … We’re going to be increasing (people’s) understanding about people and places in different parts of the world.”