A group of journalists and media practitioners from across Guyana met on Sunday at the National Racquet Centre for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), where elections of office bearers were held.
Nazima Raghubir has been elected the first female president of this local press body. The lone contender for the position, Raghubir managed to get enough votes to secure that post.
Zoisa Fraser was elected Vice President, while Fareeza Haniff was elected treasurer, and Royden James was elected Assistant Secretary/Treasurer.
Committee Members elected are: Ariana Gordon, Svetlana Marshall and Rawle Toney; and veteran journalist Denis Chabrol.
On Saturday, Raghubir, who works as an anchor and journalist for Prime News, said in an email that she decided to run for the leadership of the GPA after some deliberations.
“I feel that with the collective support of GPA’s membership I can lead an association that represents all media workers over the next two years,” she said.
She has been a member of the media and GPA for more than a decade, and a member of the executive committee of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) over the last two years.
According to Raghubir, her approach to strengthening the GPA will be based on collective action. “The GPA is as strong as its members, and I would encourage members to support the Association, not only at the upcoming elections, but beyond,” she explained.
She believes that the leadership of GPA must focus on building a strong and financially sustainable organization, with a broadened mandate to execute projects based on the skills of its membership and allies, and must be able to widen the membership base of the organisation while maintaining its integrity as an association of journalists and media workers operating on traditional and new media platforms.
Raghubir also hopes that, with the help of her executive, she would be able to achieve a pathway for the communicating of concerns over the coverage of state institutions.
Plans will also be made to review and revise the Constitution of the GPA, to take into account the changing realities of media in Guyana.
Raghubir was endorsed by outgoing President of the GPA, Neil Marks, who said in a social media post on Sunday that he enjoyed a very successful tenure as President, but would not be seeking re-election.
