MWAG PREESIDENT'S SPEECH: We have embarked on a new year with renewed hope and purpose, and a sense that in the year under review we had genuinely begun to construct a foundation on which the rich legacy of Grenadian media and journalism can stand for years. The building blocks of this legacy were in the plethora of training initiatives; most through our organization, but others through the singular efforts of some of our colleagues. We had said in years gone pass, that if our journalism is to remain credible and free, we must take training seriously. I am pleased to report tonight that we have done that. But the achievements of the last year are not ends in themselves. We, as daily practitioners in this noble profession are more acutely aware that there are further roads to travel and bolder steps to be taken. Management challenges, under investment in media, personal fear and self censorship still lurk as the proverbial thousand pound gorilla in the room. Indeed, some of the bold steps that need to be taken are beyond the pay grade of most of us, but that should not stop us from advocating and lobbying. Also, the tools with which we need to execute this profession – awareness,the ability to research, the attention to detail, the effective use of language in writing and speech, are within our control. And this we can control, we must control. Thankfully I believe we have begun to do that. As professionals, we must continue to challenge ourselves and have a robust debate with our colleagues since that will help in our individual development. But we must never resort to spite, pettiness and mischievousness. We must show solidarity always, and we must publicly back this organization even when privately we did not have our way. We must do nothing to undermine the unity and solidarity of the Media Workers Association Grenada; or to bring its members, for which we serve, in public dispute or ridicule. Our mission must be bigger and better. At the start of last year, we had made a public commitment to pursue more training opportunities for our colleagues. Brothers and sisters – mission accomplished! I am pleased to report that under my leadership and with the support of my team on the executive we have overseen more training hours in 2010, than we had seen in any other calendar year since MWAG was formed. I want to publicly applaud the efforts of every member of the executive; 1st Vice President Nicole Best, 2nd Vice President Roderick Sinclair, Secretary Ray Roberts, Assistant Secretary Linda Straker, Treasurer Tricia Reuben, Floor Members: Mike Alexis & Ria Murray. In their several and unique ways they have contributed to the continued success of the Association’s activities and have shown themselves worthy of being able to advocate for media in Grenada. Ladies & gentlemen, lets’ applaud them. Let us also applaud the many other people, organizations and sponsors which made all of our activities in 2010 possible. The year 2010 was a stand-out because for the first time in any given year, the largest number of young practitioners and potential practitioners received training. Some attended the refresher courses on fundamentals organized by MWAG, while others participated in the stakeholder Saturday morning seminars we have been staging over the years. In the year under review, we had important Saturday morning seminars -- including one with UNICEF Barbados on Child Rights and protection issues; another on environmental issues with a local NGO Nature Conservancy through its local Counterpart Grenada Fund For conservancy. We had yet another with Zublin about their plans for the revitalization of St. George’s. Practitioners also benefitted from journalism training at the Caribbean Institute of Mass Communication in Jamaica, as well as in China; made possible through the efforts on the Chinese Embassy in St George’s. There was also a seminar in Barbados, with the local participation being made possible through the efforts of the US Consulate here; as well as one in Anguilla on the emerging Economic Union of the Eastern Caribbean through the St. Lucia-based OECS Secretariat. For the first time, MWAG had been able to secure direct funding from UNESCO to facilitate two important and successful training exercises for young professionals - the first writing for broadcast news and the second writing for print. This summer, four young practitioners are expected to attend one month training courses at CARICMAC in Jamaica. (And here allow me to publicly congratulate Prime Minister Thomas for his role in making this a reality and Eugene Gittens, former UNESCO head in Grenada for working with us on this project). We were also happy to welcome in 2010 the launch of an Associate Degree course in media studies at T. A. Marryshow Community College. Scores of journalists have signed up for this course which we are pleased to report got started this month. A dream we have had for more than a decade, has finally been realized. I remember former president Michael Bascombe and myself attending meetings with officials of TAMCC, but the push to get the course project going was delayed a number of times mainly because of regular changes in personnel at the college end. But the commitment of the college has always been there, and finally that giant step was made in the year under review. MWAG would like to compliment seasoned and senior practitioners as well who took matters into their own hands by staging training exercises for young and aspiring media workers. Anthony Jericho Greenidge, (the Duke) facilitated a three-month training workshop on a range of fundamentals including techniques for broadcasters. Josephine McGuire has been working with another group on improving their skills as broadcasters and Sherma Wells ran a training programme over a few weeks for young practitioners which also went down well. So you see ladies and gentlemen, whether it’s an initiative of MWAG or that of a senior practitioner, the synergistic effect of all these training efforts is bound to redound to the benefit of individuals, the profession and the society. The evidence is clear, ongoing advocacy for training has not gone unnoticed. We are grateful – eternally grateful, but we continue to appeal for assistance in this direction. MWAG continues to exist as the authentic media advocacy body that supports professionals in whatever way we can. Over the years and even in 2010, we continued to write letters of support for practitioners seeking university acceptance, US visa or even medical assistance. Last year, like any other, of course had its challenges; but our advocacy as a defender of the profession, remained solid and consistent. On two separate occasions we had to issue statements of either warning or concern, that was done as is traditional, through the united position of the executive. On the social calendar – forgive me the use of the over-used metaphor – our plate was full. The highlight of course was the now looked forward to Media Week, which in 2010 included two new features. We introduced a day tour around the island, visiting the considered tourist hot- spots. Hot-spot might even be a description you can use for some of my colleagues, who transformed themselves into the real thing in their colorful summer wear,complete with sun glasses and broad brimmed hats. Also for the first time during Media Week, we staged a media Kaiso Extempore competition thanks to the Grenada Breweries Ltd. The winner was Tricia Reuben. It was a competition I was expected to win. But given that I was the only real professional Extempore Kaisonian in the contest – and from fear of someone shouting “advantage” – I deliberately underperformed. No, it’s not match-fixing. They don’t have that in Extempore. On a more serious note, 2010 also saw major headway in the creation of a Media Policy for Grenada, the initial move towards this process was started under the previous administration of former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell. Allow me to applaud the efforts of George Grant in this process. A stalwart campaigner back then and still a stalwart on the frontlines of this process. A policy committee, elected at a meeting of media representatives and chaired by MWAG, met throughout the year reviewing various documents. The Solicitor General’s office is currently working on the draft for public consultation which should be out by March this year. Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues all, as you can see, through training, advocacy and mobilization we have been working hard to augment the profile of the media in Grenada. The real power of the media here can only be realized if we remain united and focused. A competent and powerful media adds value to our democracy. A competent and powerful media digs deep for the facts through research and questioning, even in the face of efforts to prevent this. A competent and powerful media asks the tough questions even if public officials or their supporters may not like it. A competent and powerful media speaks truth to power always. It’s these reasons why MWAG has strongly resisted political impositions aimed at creating divisions in its ranks. I am therefore appealing for continued unity among local practitioners. That is only how we can combat the challenges that we face in moving forward. We have fought a lot of battles over the years to ensure that journalists remain free. We are satisfied that our media is now one of the freest in the Caribbean. But we must guard against anyone sowing the seeds for intimidation and censorship. Fortunately we have a political culture, which at its core, respects the freedom of the press. May it long remain so. The challenges are many. The challenge of securing training for practitioners; the challenge of lobbying for policy that provides a context for improvement in the quality of the profession; the challenge of maintaining ongoing advocacy that protects and serves the interest of the profession. The gains we have made over the years must be maintained and further enhanced. The calypsonians will always say ‘the culture is bigger than the man’. In our case, ‘the profession is bigger than the journalist’. We must remember always that there is a collective cause that is bigger than our individual preferences. Ours is not a job we do just to make a living. It is something we practice to make a society. I thank you very much.