Ghanaian Chosen To Be Rapporteur On The Bureau Of The IPDC Of UNESCO

A Ghanaian has been elected to serve as rapporteur on the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC at the Headquarters of UNESCO in Paris, France on. Mrs. Diana Heymann-Adu who was a Senior Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism was elected to the IPDC Council during the 37th General conference of UNESCO. Mrs. Heymann-Adu will serve on the Council�s Bureau until 2016 and is eligible for reelection. IPDC�s Council is composed of 39 Member States elected by UNESCO�s General Conference and was set up 1980 as the only intergovernmental programme in the UN system to mobilize the international community to discuss and promote media development in developing countries. Over the last 30 years, IPDC had had an important impact on a broad range of fields covering, among others, the promotion of media independence and pluralism, development of community media, radio and television, modernization of national and regional news agencies and training of media professionals. Since its creation, IPDC has channelled about US$105 million to over 1,700 media development projects in about 140 countries. In providing support to projects, the IPDC is guided by the following priorities: promotion of freedom of expression and media pluralism, capacity building for journalists, media managers and journalism educators/trainers and innovation in convergence and integration oftraditional news media and new trends in communication. The 29th Council Session also elected Ms Albana Shala of the Netherlands as its Chair. H.E.Johanna Odonkor Svanikier, Ghana�s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, proposed Mrs. Heymann-Adu to sit on the Council�s bureau and act as its rapporteur and the delegate of the Gambia seconded. Ghana�s candidature was accepted unanimously. Member states that made endorsements in support of Ghana�s nominee in the order that they were made, were as follows; Gambia, Turkey, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, The Netherlands, Madagascar, Kenya, Iran, United Kingdom, Mongolia, Brazil, Tunisia, United States of America, Norway, Honduras, Bahrain, Niger, Algeria, Bangladesh, Russia and Pakistan. IPDC meets once every two years. Its Bureau of eight Member States meets once a year and allocates support to grassroots media projects around the world.