–over 170 media operatives enrolled as first batch

THE capacity of the local media fraternity is expected to be boosted with the unveiling of the Guyana Media and Communications Academy, on Tuesday, during the inaugural World Press Freedom Day Conference.

In introducing this initiative, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy, said the academy, which is virtually based, already has 170 local media operatives enrolled to benefit from training opportunities from world-class universities across the globe, including several Ivy League Universities.

According to the minister, the academy would provide local media workers with access to world-class learning and certification opportunities across the industry.

The academy was conceptualised as a needed intervention that could help to upskill and further professionalise the local industry for the rapidly transforming socio-economic landscape, with media and communication practitioners across the public and private spectrum being provided the opportunity to gain world-class competencies and certifications, as part of the government’s national retooling efforts.

“The academy was conceptualised to facilitate the bridging of the many skills and learning gaps that must be quickly addressed to allow practitioners and the fraternity as a whole, to grow and flourish hand-in-hand with the country.

“What started out as an active consideration for the broadcasting academy included in my 2021 budget speech in the National Assembly, has evolved wholesomely into what will be the groundbreaking Guyana Media and Communication Academy,” Minister McCoy said.

The minister noted that the academy will be facilitated through one of the world’s leading virtual platforms – Coursera.

According to Minister McCoy, media workers who wish to benefit from the academy would be required to secure a license that grants them access to a wide range of programmes.

He said: “Through this collaboration, every single media practitioner at every level of the media spectrum here in Guyana and in the diaspora will have access, on an annual basis, to learning licenses paid for by the Government of Guyana.

“Those licenses will allow you to pursue selections from among more than 2,000 world-class courses at various levels of certification from leading partner universities in the world.”

McCoy said that the academy will be open to media workers in both the state and private media, noting that the government is committed to making a difference in the media landscape of Guyana.