Information Minister welcomes participants of media caucus
INFORMATION Minister Mr Moses Nagamootoo has extended a warm welcome to participants in the Caribbean Media Conference, which begins this morning at Le Meridien Pegasus. Keynote addresses will be delivered at the opening ceremony of the caucus by President Bharrat Jagdeo and Barbados Prime Minister, Mr Owen Arthur. In his message, Minister Nagamootoo, who is a veteran journalist, stated: "Guyana welcomes decision-makers and professionals to this Third Annual Caribbean Media Conference. Feel at home in our open and free media surroundings, and let your rich expressions add to the quality of our freedom. "For a year almost this conference has been in a planning mode, and I am confident that it was designed to succeed. "I look forward to being with you, perhaps not until the end of match, but long enough to benefit from your length and line on a host of media issues that impact on our work, our institutions and our lives. "Your conference will no doubt ensure that the Caribbean should not be left behind by the rapid pace of globalisation, and plans will be made to tap into the latest technologies. "Today, when information technologies are driving economic and other development, the value and power of the new media cannot be denied or eclipsed. However, we must harness the potentials by ensuring that our media do not become a runaway juggernaut. We must set policy guidelines and devise regulations to prevent our media from becoming an end in themselves. They should serve as social tools for the promotion of national and regional development, and transformation of our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies. "Above all, our media should instill greater awareness of our common Caribbean identity, and must continue to function as a principal vehicle for our unity in an atmosphere of peace and tolerance. "I have read your agenda with interest, and sincerely wish you well in your deliberations," the Minister's message concluded. (Guyana Information Services)
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