Several issues affecting public broadcasting in Jamaica will be discussed at Symposium 2016, scheduled to take place from October 18-20 at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.
The event, organised by the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ) will be held under the theme ‘Public Broadcasting: Agenda for the Future’.
Among the topics to be discussed are ‘Defining Public Broadcasting: What is it?’, ‘Applicable programme content for viewers or listeners’, ‘Investing in Public Broadcasting’ and ‘Technology: Pushing the Boundaries’.
Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, yesterday (October 12), Chairman of the PBCJ Board of Directors, Gladstone Wilson, said the symposium will be officially opened on October 19, at 9:00 a.m. by the Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid.
He said the event will consist of a mix of keynote speakers, short talk presentations and five moderated panel discussions over the two-day period. Youth participation will also be at the forefront with the inclusion of tertiary-level youth presentations on a discussion panel.
Additionally, he said that international presenters have been invited from the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, Public Media Alliance International, National Association of Broadcasters, Public Broadcasters International and other leading media organisations.
Mr. Wilson, who is also Chairman of the Symposium 2016 Organising Committee, said that the event will not be a “talk shop” but will provide an opportunity “to sift through policy issues and exchange ideas that will assist our internal planning for what we want to do”.
“We also want to assist the process, because we are the practitioners, and so we have to help the policymakers to say, yes, because they are going to help us in certain areas when it comes to funding and a certain direction,” he added.
Mr. Wilson said the PBCJ is eagerly looking forward to hearing the various perspectives, especially the discussion that will focus on investing in public broadcasting.
“We have been grappling with how you fund public broadcasting so that it can do what it is supposed to do,” he said, noting that the PBCJ is funded by the Government, and not permitted to seek income through the traditional method of sale of airtime and commercial sponsorship.
Persons interested in attending the symposium should register at: http://symposium.pbcjamaica.org/
