UG’s Centre for Communication Studies (CCS) launched the Centre for Communications Studies Advisory Board which will operate in conjunction with Ohio University’s (OU) Higher Education for Development (HED) Programme and the American Council for Education (ACE).
According to a press release from the US Embassy, the launching was a deliverable under the USAID-Ohio University Higher Education Partnership. The Board was constituted with a group of eight leaders in the field of communications in Guyana and one student, bringing the total to nine members. “The purpose of the Board is to: provide support regarding overall philosophy and priorities of the Centre; provide support to the CCS Faculty on policies and programs; advice on budgets and business plans; and support the sustainability of the Centre,” the Embassy said.
The USAID grant to the CCS amounted to $400,000 over three years. The project ends on December 30. According to the release, resources were used for technical assistance, teaching supplies, equipment and scholarships. USAID support resulted in four extensive workshops for the larger media community; the production of 20 videos that served as training laboratories for staff, students and members of the media community and the publication of a book which will be issued in early January.
OU professors trained 300 radio, television, film, print and video media practitioners in Guyana and three faculty members received advanced degrees from that university. One of the locally produced videos placed third in an international film festival in Africa and others have been aired locally and in New York to the Diaspora community.
At the Advisory Board event on Tuesday, USAID Officer in Charge William Gelman thanked the CCS, OU, HED and ACE for their efforts. He said the Centre and collaborators achieved significantly greater overall results than the sum of the programme’s inputs.
