As the CBU prepares to conduct its first in person Annual General Assembly since 2019, it looks forward to paying tribute to its members for the resilience and strength the Caribbean media sector has displayed over the past two and half years, despite enormous challenges.
When the CBU family last met in San Andres Island, Colombia, in August of 2019, it could not have foreseen the fundamental changes to the economic and social landscape globally.
And now, as the CBU looks forward to conducting its 53rd Assembly, in partnership with the Tobago House of Assembly, it has mined the experiences of the past two years to share with the region at this unique sectoral event. The travel and movement restrictions established to limit the spread of COVID-19 spotlighted the need for indigenous, credible and committed media, able to inform, entertain and educate.
This year, the CBU puts the spotlight on misinformation and disinformation, as it presents the AGA Conference Day with the kind support of UNESCO, the Global Alliance on Media and Information Literacy and the Public Media Alliance.
The Union will also welcome for the first time in its history a sitting CARICOM Secretary General as Dr. Carla Barnett is the feature speaker on the AGA Conference Day.
The CBU is also mindful of the existential issues affecting the region including climate change, and the constantly growing vulnerability to natural hazards, which has led to a need for greater attention to disaster risk reduction. This year’s AGA will also see the announcement of the first batch of winners of co-production grants sponsored by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
It is a point of particular pride for the CBU to celebrate the ground-breaking work by its affiliate, the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) in partnership with CBU-member DIME Network, to provide enhanced multi-media coverage of the 43rd CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in early July 2022. The Union, looks forward to further such collaboration, which are truly helping to give life to the Union’s mandate to support the development of the region, through media action and service.
