U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, D. Brent Hardt, recently met with Denis Chabrol upon his return from the United States after participating in the prestigious Embassy-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) exchange.Mr. Chabrol, the Managing Director/Managing Editor for Demerara Waves Media Inc., participated in an IVLP exchange titled ‘Media Literacy: Promoting Civil Society through New Media’, from March 24 to April 11, 2014.
During his meeting with Ambassador Hardt, Chabrol highlighted key components of the programme, which complemented his IVLP experience.
He underscored the ways government and civil society organisations utilise social media in the delivery of information and to promote interaction with the various publics and interests they serve and promote. Ambassador Hardt reaffirmed the U.S. Government’s commitment to strengthening the development of the media and promoting accurate, fair, and responsible reporting.
Mr. Chabrol was one of 23 participants from across the globe who had the opportunity to examine a variety of new media and social networking tools. During the exchange programme, participants also explored citizens’ rights and responsibilities in civil society in the United States, and how new media can be used to promote transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors. They also gained insights into how citizens can be educated to become more discerning consumers of online content. Chabrol and his global counterparts visited the Department of State, USAID, non-governmental organisations, and media houses such as Al Jazeera and CNN.
The exchange programme was specifically designed for public and private-sector representatives responsible for developing social media platforms, journalists, media professionals, government officials, and educators who teach and research social media.

Mr. Chabrol plans to share his IVLP experience with his local counterparts, specifically highlighting the role of civil society in political decision-making, addressing challenges of content credibility in an era of new media, and utilising new media technologies and strategies for reaching various audiences.

The IVLP is the flagship professional exchange programme of the U.S. Department of State, which annually brings to the United States approximately 5,000 foreign nationals from all over the world to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience America firsthand. The visitors are current or potential leaders in government, politics, the media, education, the arts, business and other fields. Among the thousands of distinguished individuals who have participated in the IVLP since its inception almost seven decades ago, are more than 290 current and former Chiefs of State and Heads of Government, 2,000 cabinet-level ministers, and many, many other distinguished leaders from the public and private sectors.