Media personnel from various organizations got the chance to sharpen their skills at a workshop hosted by the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and funded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).{{more}} The closing ceremony for the Broadcast Production and Techniques workshop was held last Friday, July 26.

In her overview of the programme, general manager of NBC Corletha Ollivierre stated that when there are improvements for the media, the country will benefit on a whole.

“I am expecting that the transfer of skills will be as broad-based as the representation here; that you will not just sit on the information and the new knowledge that you have gained, but that you would seek to share it with the support of your supervisors and your programme managers,” she said.

As she thanked the participants for taking part in the workshop, Ollivierre urged them to make use of their new skills.

“The demonstration of what you have gained is not going to be manifested until you apply it in your media houses,” she said.

Minister of National Reconciliation, Public Service, Labour, Information and Ecclesiastical Affairs Maxwell Charles congratulated the board and staff at NBC, as well as UNESCO, for efforts in providing an important and timely workshop.

He also told participants that as a result of the training, the expectation will be to see and hear better broadcasting.

“When you say your first sentence, there is a distinct possibility that you are heard all over the world,” Charles said. “We must not only think St Vincent and we must not operate as though we are at a public meeting and we have a limited audience…we must think regionally and also internationally.” Lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus, Vincentian June Pamela Barbour was the facilitator of the workshop.

At the closing ceremony, Bacchus highlighted various techniques that she had taught the participants, which was showcased in a series of presentations. She also commented on the growth of confidence in the participants.

“When we are virtual, whatever we send abroad is what is going to be reflected ‘a yard’. Whatever affects one Vincentian will affect all when it goes viral and we need to understand that as broadcasters,” Barbour said. “I’m confident that they will go forward with a different attitude, a different agenda. Efficiency will be different. It will be at a higher level.”

The workshop ran for two weeks, with media practitioners at a junior level being trained in the first week, while senior media practitioners were trained in the second week.

Participants who were involved in the programme came from NBC Radio, SVG Broadcasting Corporation (SVGBC), We FM, Garifuna Radio, Praise FM, Star FM, Nice Radio and the Agency for Public Information (API). (BK)