Rizwan Ahmad is a UNESCO Expert on AI, the Audio-Visual Industry, and Digital Culture, with over 24 years of extensive experience in media, education, and cultural communication. A media professional, filmmaker, film programmer, e-learning specialist, and administrator, he has successfully led diverse initiatives in film and television production, academic policy planning, digital learning, and cultural diplomacy. 

 

Rizwan is a full member of the esteemed International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT) based in UNESCO Paris, the International Documentary Association (IDA) in Los Angeles, and the Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA) in Mumbai. He previously held the position of Deputy Director for the Government of India, working with the Directorate of Film Festivals and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI Goa) under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Additionally, he has hosted the well-received virtual series "Meet The Media Veterans," featuring prominent figures from the film, television, radio, advertising, and journalism sectors both in India and internationally. Rizwan's career also includes significant roles at major media organizations such as Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, the largest film studio complex globally, Delhi Doordarshan, and The Hindustan Times in New Delhi.

 

Rizwan Ahamd currently serves as the Director of the Instructional Media Centre at MANUU, a Central University under the Ministry of Education, Government of India, located in Hyderabad. He oversees a large team of professionals in film, television, and radio. As the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre, he is responsible for all administrative, creative, and policy-related decisions. Ahamd has spearheaded numerous innovative digital initiatives in e-learning, culture, media, and education. His leadership has garnered recognition for several IMC initiatives on both national and international stages. He has also introduced various outreach programs and expanded the university's presence on social media, enhancing the Centre's global visibility. Notably, he played a key role in launching the YouTube channel for higher education, e-content platform, the MANUU Knowledge Series, the Meet the Media Veterans Virtual Series, and several e-content platforms such as Urdu Nama and Shaheen e Urdu, all of which have received widespread acclaim. Under his guidance, the Centre has earned multiple national and international awards and established several MOUs with esteemed academic and media organizations. Additionally, he initiated a technical upgrade project to enhance the Centre's film and television production capabilities.

 

With over twenty years of experience in ministerial, academic, and media environments, he has managed a variety of roles, including Deputy Director (Administration/Programs), Head of Office, Welfare Officer, Grievance Officer, and CPIO. His contributions extend to organizing the International Film Festival of India in Goa, overseeing Cultural Exchange Programs, participating in film festivals both domestically and internationally, and coordinating the National Film Awards. He has also been involved in film print preservation and handling through the Print Unit, as well as managing technical upgrade projects in civil and electrical domains at the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Additionally, he has experience in film, television, and e-content production within both academic and professional settings.

 

He holds a postgraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, specializing in Film and TV Direction and Scriptwriting, and has an extensive portfolio that includes several television programs, short films, live events, documentaries, educational programs, and on-air promotions. Furthermore, he possesses an MSc in Zoology, a certificate from a prestigious Film Appreciation Course, and a certificate in Film/TV Editing from renowned institutions such as the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and CEC, UGC in New Delhi.

 

With extensive expertise in Audio-Visual Production, Cinema, Film Programming, and Academia, he has held positions as a member and member secretary on various prestigious Academic, Technical, and Media Committees under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, as well as leading Academic Institutions. His contributions have been pivotal in executing significant Academic, Digital, Technical, and Film policies, including the International Film Festival of India, Goa’s Technical Committee, Preview Committee, and Media and Publicity Committee. He has also served as the Nodal Officer for the Ministry of Education’s SAMARTH ERP Project and as a Social Media Champion for the Ministry of Education. Rizwan has chaired and participated in numerous selection committees within the Media sector.

 

In addition, Rizwan has offered consultancy services and conducted numerous talks, workshops, and masterclasses covering a wide range of topics such as Cinema, Social Media, e-content/e-learning, Television, digital education methods, gender and media, Online Education/MOOCs/Social Media/Science Communication, and more. His engagements have reached both students and professionals in the media and academic fields at various National and International platforms, including prestigious Film Festivals (IISFF, NSFFI, MIFF, etc.), UNESCO Paris, Commonwealth of Learning (COL CEMCA), and various universities and institutes. He has actively participated in numerous Media and Academic events at both National and International levels, including the National University of Law Hyderabad (NALSAR), Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), International/National Science Film Festival (Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India), and events in Chandigarh, Goa, Bhopal, the National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Rural Development Government of India, Hyderabad, Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine, Hyderabad, UGC HRDC Centre, Hyderabad, Jiayuguan International Short Film Festival in China, Indian Film Festival in Vietnam, Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran, Iran, and the International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT) at UNESCO Paris, OCCAM, Observatory for Cultural and Audiovisual Communication in the Mediterranean, UN affiliate, Milan, Italy, Population First (Laadli media awards)  among others. Owing to his technical background, he has been part of Film Festival Jury,  Selection Committees at prominent Govt Of India Institutes.

 

He has served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the esteemed English quarterly journal "Cultural Dialogue," published by the Iran Culture House in New Delhi. Additionally, he oversaw the editorial team for the IFFI Goa daily bulletin during the renowned International Film Festival of India in Goa. He has also acted as the editor for a distance learning course titled "ANCHORING," part of the CBCS Course for undergraduate students at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University in Hyderabad.

 

In 2011, Rizwan successfully passed the UPSC examination and joined the Directorate of Film Festivals under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, as Deputy Director. He was later promoted to Head of Office, where he played a key role in implementing various film policies and programs for the Government of India. His responsibilities included programming, administration, and providing technical infrastructure support for the National Film Awards, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the International Film Festival of India in Goa, and numerous other film-related events. With over five years of experience in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, he has held multiple roles as an administrator, programmer, and technical coordinator for film projection and audio-video infrastructure upgrades. He has been pivotal in the development and execution of several Government of India initiatives in Film and Media, collaborating with state governments and international partners.

 

He has extensively traveled across India, Asia, Europe, and beyond, establishing a broad network of professional connections and earning significant goodwill within both the Indian Film and TV Industry and international cinema sectors. He has also played a key role in executing several prestigious Cultural Exchange Programmes for the Government of India, collaborating with Indian embassies overseas and foreign embassies in India.

 

In 2011, he was pivotal in the successful introduction of digital cinema projection at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, marking a significant advancement for an international film festival in India. Additionally, he oversaw the implementation of technical upgrade projects for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting within the film sector. He provided technical support and curated multiple editions of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. His star-studded gala screenings, film premieres, masterclasses, workshops, co-production sessions, technical presentations, and grand open-air screenings received widespread acclaim from the film community both in India and internationally. Rizwan made history at IFFI Goa by introducing exclusive masterclasses in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), also known as the Oscar Academy in Hollywood.

 

During his time as the Head of Film Selection and Programming at IFFI Goa, he launched co-production seminars in partnership with international entities and organized technical workshops featuring leaders from the media industry. As the programming head, he played a key role in collaborating with ICFT UNESCO in Paris, establishing the ICFT UNESCO award to honor films that embody the principles of peace and love. He successfully coordinated large delegations of prominent officials and film industry professionals from various countries to India and participated in high-level delegations from the Ministry and film industry to attend esteemed film festivals overseas. He was also responsible for coordinating the country focuses on South Korea and China during the International Film Festival of India in Goa, which attracted significant delegations of film professionals, including renowned figures such as Wong Kar Wai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Zhang Ziyi, Im Kwon-taek, and Kang Ho Song, among others. Recently, he developed and hosted a virtual social media talk series titled “Media the Media Veterans,” featuring prominent personalities from the cinema, television, and print media sectors in India and abroad. To date, 33 episodes of this series have been broadcast live.

 

He is an accomplished filmmaker and experienced administrator with expertise in strategic communication, fostering cultural diversity through digital platforms, policy and planning, social media engagement, e-learning, distance education, and educational communication. His extensive experience spans the cinema, education, communication, and media sectors, particularly in policy and communication. Social media outreach is a key area of his specialization. He has collaborated extensively with both national and international organizations during his tenure at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Education in the Government of India. Recently, he was invited by UNESCO headquarters in Paris to participate in a high-level global panel focused on "AI and the audio-visual industry." Currently, he serves as an international expert on UNESCO's Reflection Group regarding the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the Digital Environment (UNESCO Convention 2005).

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