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UG and US Embassy host inter-faculty debate for World Press Freedom Day
U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot (right) with members of the debating team and judges of the World Press Freedom Day debating competition. (UG CSS photo)
Kaieteur News – In commemoration of World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), the University of Guyana’s Centre of Communication Studies (CCS), in collaboration with the United States Embassy in Guyana, hosted an inter-faculty debate at UG’s Turkeyen campus on Friday.
The debate saw the CCS; Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences (FEES), arguing on the importance of the media. The moot of the debate ‘Media, the Most Important Entity to Address the Environmental Crisis’ was strategically aligned with this year’s theme for WPFD ‘A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis’.
The CCS team took the role of proposers while the FEES team as opposed.
Present at the event was U.S. Ambassador to the Guyana, Nicole Theriot who expressed gratitude for the collaboration in hosting the debate. Joining her were notable figures including the 11th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Paloma Mohamed, Deputy Vice-Chancellors Professor Emmanuel Cummings, Dr. Melissa Ifill, and Dr. Dianna Gobin, as well as Registrar Dr. Nigel Gravesande, and other members of the University’s Senior Management Team.
The Centre of Communication Studies was represented by Tanacia Karim who was the first speaker; Jagnanand Jailal, the second speaker and Francwa Fortune,the third speaker.
Dexter Pellow, who was adjudged best debater, receives a token from U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot. (UG CSS photo)
The Faculty of Earth and Environmental Science was represented by Dexter Pellew, the first speaker; Ariel Yong, the second speaker, and Christal Craig, the third speaker.
The proposing team argued that, “the media has the power to dispel false information and advance scientific truth”.
Karim, of the CSS posited that journalists are able to give evidence-based reporting, refuse myths, and fact-check assertions while adding that the media also plays a significant role in raising awareness of environmental issues, disseminating false practices, and showcasing success stories.
“It acts as a middleman, educating and empowering the public to have discussions around the issue and to seek out viable solutions. It platforms important figures working to combat climate change and calls out the corporations aiding it. With all of that being said, it is evident that media is both the voice of the people and a necessary vehicle of change,” the first speaker said.
Meanwhile, the opposing team highlighted the media’s limitations in addressing environmental crisis. In his arguments, first speaker Pellew said the moot basically asserts that, “The media, the main means of mass communication is significantly better for dealing with environmental imbalances stemming from climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Media in itself cannot tackle the complexities that causes environmental degradation; social, economic , and political. As its primary roles are just ‘inform the public, but over decades, they have consistently failed to communicate the urgency of the planetary emergency.”
Pellow said too that the government, and non-governmental organizations, as well as academia informed by science, are the most important entities in tackling the environmental crisis because they possess the authority, expertise, assets and financial resources required to bring about significant and lasting environmental change thereby address crisis.
After a riveting exchange of arguments, the opposing team emerged victorious, securing 141 points out of a total of 180, while the proposing team garnered 126 points. Dexter Pellow was recognized as the best speaker of the night for his exceptional contribution.
The inter-faculty debate not only provided a platform for intellectual discourse but also underscored the critical role of media in addressing pressing global challenges, particularly the environmental crisis.
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