Remembering Paddy Coulter

OPHI was greatly saddened to learn that Paddy Coulter, OPHI's former Communications Director, passed away in November. 

Paddy led OPHI’s Communications from 2006 to 2018 bringing his extensive experience of broadcasting and communications to the task of establishing OPHI as an innovative research centre and introducing multidimensional poverty as a concept to the mainstream media. He was a dedicated advocate for OPHI and played a pioneering and instrumental part in the process of achieving widespread acceptance of the MPI as a measure to complement monetary poverty metrics. 

Paddy also taught many OPHI colleagues about the art of communications. He prepared OPHI researchers for the media environment with entertaining and lively trainings that built their confidence in communicating the MPI to non-specialist audiences.  He remained an inspirational mentor and advisor even after he left his formal role and was generous with his time, expertise and anecdotes. 

Beyond OPHI, Paddy contributed so much over the course of his career. In 2000, he was awarded the OBE ‘for services to development awareness’ following a prestigious career producing programmes on global development and environmental issues. At Oxford he had also been a Director of Studies at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Paddy was a passionate defender of journalism and human rights, and he never stopped lending his considerable energy to these causes. In his later years, he was a trustee for several humanitarian and media organisations including Oxfam, UNICEF UK, Comic Relief, the Media Trust and the Equal Rights Trust. He chaired the press freedom organisation ARTICLE 19. 

Funny, empathetic and insightful, Paddy will be greatly missed at OPHI and always remembered.