The University of Guyana Centre for Communication Studies has received a television and print studio donated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of a three-year partnership between the two entities.
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the long-awaited studio was held on Friday last.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who gave brief remarks at the ceremony challenged the beneficiaries of the studio, who will be future media practitioners, to initiate cultural cohesion and togetherness in Guyana’s multicultural society.
In his remarks at the ceremony Mission Director of the USAID, Peter Hubbard said that the partnership between the USAID and the UG is aimed at heightening the importance of communication and the media in a democratic society. He said that it is the aim of the USAID to strengthen the ability of the students to meet the demand of their media careers. Hubbard related that the programme is being run at present on some US$300,000.
Dean of the Social Sciences Faculty at UG, Dr Michael Scott and Registrar Dr David Chanderbali both expressed immense gratitude for the very timely intervention of the USAID. They also expressed appreciation to lecturers in the Communication Centre, Alexis Stephens, Terrence Esseboom, Carolyn Walcott and Paloma Mohamed, who “stuck it out” at the time when the programme would have been closed down.
Special mention was made of Dr Mohamed who is now the Director of the Communication Centre, for her unrelenting efforts to bring the programme back on stream after its near demise.
