Valentina Bau

Valentina Baú is a Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI) at the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. Her work focuses on Communication for Development in Peacebuilding, particularly in conflict-affected and displacement contexts.

• Ph.D. in Communication for Development in Peacebuilding from Macquarie University (2019)
• Alumna of University of Reading and Bournemouth Media School

Her research explores participatory media, digital communication, and youth engagement in refugee camps (Kakuma, Za'atari, Philippines) and post-conflict settings (Kenya, Italy, Sierra Leone). She evaluates how media interventions foster social cohesion, human rights awareness, and sustainable peace.

Recent publications analyze:

• Refugee camp radio's role in community building
• Reality TV as civic engagement platforms in Palestine
• Facebook's (mis-)use by refugee youth
• Communicative ecologies in protracted displacement
• Virtual timeline methodologies for remote fieldwork

Scientific recognition includes the 2019 Senesh Fellowship. Her work bridges academic research with practical applications for UN agencies (UNICEF, IOM, UNHCR) and NGOs, emphasizing citizen-led communication strategies.