August 12, 2006 - The Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM), in collaboration with the Independent Refereeing Panel Overseeing Guyana's Media Code of Conduct, will host a workshop on The Media, Elections and Democracy at the Georgetown Club in Georgetown, Guyana on Thursday August 17, 2006 commencing at 9.30 a.m.

The workshop is meant to complement the work of the Panel and to explore issues related to the independent performance of the Guyana media during the run-up to the August 28 general elections.

Among the resource persons for the workshop will be Ms Angelica Hunt, Director of the United Nations Information Centre for the Caribbean; Wesley Gibbings, General-Secretary of the Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM), Lennox Grant and Wyvolin Gager of the Independent Refereeing Panel and Dean Graber, Program Manager of the Texas-based Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.

The one-day workshop will seek to bring greater awareness among media proprietors, journalists and other media functionaries on the role media play in accurately and independently recording election activities.

Media personnel will also be exposed to the experiences of other conflict-affected societies in the holding of free and fair elections and their relevance to the current social and political environment of Guyana.

The Independent Refereeing Panel will discuss the latest developments related to its work in Guyana and there will be discussions on the advisability and application of self-regulation models in the media.

The workshop is also expected to yield a joint declaration of commitment to the principles of the Code of Conduct and its continued expansion and application as a lasting feature of media self-regulation in Guyana.

The ACM has meanwhile strongly condemned the brutal murders at the printing facility of the Kaieteur News in Guyana on Tuesday August 8.

This action constitutes a grave act of criminality with serious implications for the free press.

For further information contact: Bert Wilkinson, Vice

President ACM – 225-7987