VETERAN Guyanese broadcaster and former United Nations Consultant, Hugh Neville James Cholmondeley spent his final hours in this world at a New York hospital Friday, fighting a prolonged battle with lung cancer. Cholmondeley died at age 73, and leaves to mourn his wife and five children.
Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament (MP) Cathy Hughes, daughter of the late broadcaster, confirmed to the media that her beloved father died at approximately 18:20hrs.
Cholmondeley was a former general manager of the then Guyana Broadcasting Service (GBS), and of the then Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). He also once held the position of media consultant for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
He had been engaged in shuttle diplomacy between the Government of Guyana and the then main opposition Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR) party during political unrest in Guyana several years ago.
He once worked in Somalia as Coordinator for humanitarian aid and rehabilitation.
Back in 2010, he led a CARICOM mission to observe Trinidad and Tobago’s general election.
Cholmondeley retired as a Director at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) based in New York following a period of duty with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as representative to the Caribbean.
He opened the UNESCO Caribbean Office in 1980, and was highly instrumental in establishing a number of Caricom-generated media institutions, such as the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU); Caribbean Institute of Media and Communications (CARIMAC), at the University of the West Indies; and the Caribbean News Agency (CANA), among others institutions.
The Guyana Press Association (GPA), expressing its grief at the passing of the iconic broadcaster and international public servant, declared in a release yesterday that Cholmondeley’s contribution to broadcasting in the region has been legendary, and his indefatigable work in the United Nations System has been exemplary.
The GPA said it is happy and proud that Cholmondeley had paid so much interest in the development and growth of the media, not only in his home territory of Guyana, but in the Caribbean region and the world. The release also described him as a visionary.
“His initiative (in creating) the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) and his commitment to the regional body rightfully earned him the well-deserved and respected position in the CBU’s Hall of Heroes,” the release highlighted.
The GPA also said Cholmondeley brought class, finesse, and pizzazz to post-independence radio, and latterly television broadcasting in the Commonwealth Caribbean.
“He was a pioneer in sharing and executing regional radio and television programming and broadcasting. He helped to establish the Caribbean News Agency (CANA) and CARIMAC. He showed the rest of the world, including colleagues in the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, what the islands and countries of the Caribbean can produce”, the release said.
“For the post-independence media workers and those who followed, Cholmondeley served as a mentor, teacher, guide, mediator and example”, the GPA release said. “His managerial and organizational skills were incomparable. He was meticulous in planning and suave in production. He was a broadcaster’s broadcaster!
“The GPA shares the view of so many of his colleagues and contemporaries that his work as a media expert was outstanding. He served as UNESCO’s first Representative to the Caribbean, opening the Kingston, Jamaica office. In that job, he also opened numerous opportunities for those involved in the media, science and culture in the Region. He continued to make a sterling contribution as a Director at UNDP, and in numerous other international assignments.
“His return to Guyana reignited and re-energized media and other issues, including his brilliant work in helping to formulate a Media Code of Conduct in Guyana. Never the one to back down from making his well-informed opinions known, Cholmondeley plunged into the maelstrom of Guyanese affairs, elections management and communications as if he were someone who never left. He drew from his long experience in conflict resolution and development matters internationally,” GPA said.
The GPA said it also remembers his insightful pronouncements on current issues, delivered in his inimitable style, remarkable voice and with sophisticated wit.
“The GPA expresses its sincere condolences to his wife, children, all his close relatives, friends and colleagues. The Caribbean has lost one of Broadcasting’s finest!”