St. Kitts Press Secretary – Erasmus Williams
Photo By Sean Douglas
Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis
June 26, 2008 (CUOPM)
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Mr. Erasmus Williams, was among Press Secretaries from the Eastern Caribbean, who attended an International Visitor Leadership Programme in Washington, D.C. last week.
The United States Department of State-sponsored the Leadership Programme, administered by the Institute of International Education was also attended by the Dominica Government’s Press Secretary, Mr. Sean Douglas; Press Secretary to the Premier of Nevis, Mrs. Deli Caines-Bussue and the Press Secretary to the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mr. Hans King.
The objectives of the programme were to review the history of public information in the United States including the role of the Freedom of Information Act; learn about information sharing and transparency at the Federal, State and local levels including discussions with professional counterparts to discuss challenges and share experiences; observe concrete and practical functions of press spokespersons and explore relationships and cooperation between the government and the media and the government and the general public.
Following the introduction and welcome on Monday morning by Ms. Pat Kowall, Programme Officer in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the United States Department of State, participants heard from Professor at the School of Media and Public Affairs of the George Washington University, Dr. Steven Livingston, who gave an overview of the media in the United States. Dr. Livingston highlighted the relationship between government and media as well as the role of media in foreign policy-making.
