The University of Guyana (UG) has joined the ranks of stations on the FM spectrum with the launching of its radio station ‘95.5 Intelligent FM’ yesterday.
According to a Department of Public Information release, the station which is billed at $8 million, will be housed in the Centre for Communication Studies at the Turkeyen campus. Its frequency will be broadcast over a 10-mile radius of the campus extending to Melanie on the East Coast, Den Amstel on the West Bank and New Hope on the East Bank.
With the university now in its 56th year of operation, Pro-Chancellor of UG Major General (Ret’d), Joseph Singh stressed the importance of the university recognising those who have toiled and contributed to the success of this project.
Between 1990 and 2017, the university’s Centre for Communication Studies had been without a radio broadcasting licence despite repeated requests for renewal. After meeting with various officials including the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana National Broad-casting Authority (GNBA), fresh requests for radio and TV licenses were submitted.
One such person is Director of the Centre for Communication Studies, Denise Hopkinson-Braam who shared anecdotes of her time as a student at UG and expressed her elation with the completion of the project.
“We were students waiting on this and it’s finally here. It’s a dream come through,” she said. “Community radio is a simple, effective solution to achieve developmental goals, to prevent fragile states from becoming failed states and also to help people celebrate their own culture.”
The Director added that the university is now poised and ready to be able to help the community and that the station is ready to provide ‘fit and proper’ content for the airways.
Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes expressed her pleasure at the final operationalisation of the radio station citing the scores of persons who have been waiting for decades for this dream to become reality.
“At last, at last, at long last,” Hughes said. “Campus radio has become a reality. I am extremely proud because part of [my father’s dream] for the evolution of broadcasting in Guyana has finally started.” She added that the station would be ‘bridging the gaps’ that exist within the communication and broadcasting training sectors.
Chairman of the GNBA Leslie Sobers spoke about the need for Guyana to transition to catering to persons living with disabilities in relation to journalism and broadcasting industries.
The university’s programme of Journalism and Communication has been in existence for more than 35 years. It is one of only a few institutions in the Caribbean region dedicated to training broadcast and print journalists and producers of radio and television programmes.
Deedra Moe, ExxonMobil Guyana’s Senior Director, Public and Government Affairs in her remarks at yesterday’s launch, said that ExxonMobil is “extremely happy as a company to play a role” and be part of such a momentous occasion in the life of the academic institution.
“The launch of this radio station will boost the work of the UG’s journalism and communications programme… and will also contribute significantly to the development of the university as a whole,” Moe was quoted as saying.
The radio station will provide training labs in live radio and TV production for students enrolled in the diploma and bachelor’s degree courses in Communication Studies as well as support more specialised training for students of the Master in Visual Communication which is set to be launched within the coming months, the release added.
