Amanda Laurence – Media can benefit from UN think tank

Amanda Laurence, National Information Officer at the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) based in Trinidad and Tobago, spent two days here recently familiarizing herself with the Vincentian media.{{more}}

When she visited SEARCHLIGHT on Thursday, July 22, one day after she arrived in the state, she said: “My primary responsibility is to interact with the media and work with the media to get the UN’s information out. And also to support your work by providing the material that you need.”

Laurence, who joined the UNIC in 2007, said every year she makes similar familiarization trips to let the media in the region know what she does, know who she is, as well as have a better understanding of what the centre does.

She said the UNIC also plays a role in supporting the media in reaching the other UN offices and programmes.

Laurence explained that the media can benfit from the UN think tank, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and UN departments such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Development Fund for Women.

Her department is responsible for getting UN information out to 19 territories in the Caribbean.

Laurence left the state on Saturday, July 24.