A The Academic Board of African University College of Communications (AUCC) has approved a proposal to establish the Komla Dumor Centre for Broadcast Journalism in September this year.
The Centre is to design special training programmes, workshops, public lectures, international conferences, and publish papers and books on broadcasting. A statement to the Ghana News Agency said the centre was to fulfill the wish of Professor Kojo Yankah, Founder of AUCC.
Prof. Yankah, in one of his tributes to the late Komla Dumor, expressed the hope that communication institutions on the continent would commemorate the name of one who, without going through formal journalism training, studied and practiced the profession through hard work, confidence and the will to make Africa proud.
The statement said Komla Dumor exemplified the core values that AUCC was built on which include pursuing excellence in his chosen profession (journalism) till he became one of the most recognised journalists at the British Broadcasting Corporation.
It said he was also a critical and independent thinker whose passion for creativity and innovation led him to develop his own unique on-air style that allowed him to seamlessly move between television and radio.
“Komla’s love for Africa and passion for telling the African story further resonate powerfully with AUCC’s core value number four which is the Respect for African Cultural Values, having travelled to 20 African countries to interview the movers and the shakers of the continent and wielding considerable influence on how Africa was covered by the BBC,” the statement said.
According to the statement he also personified AUCC’s strong belief in “Service to the Community” by going as far as volunteering extra shifts for colleagues at his workplace in spite of his own busy schedules.
It said Komla’s father, Professor Ernest Dumor, had accepted to be the first Chair of the Komla Dumor Center for Broadcast Journalism saying; “Komla’s mother and I had an influence on him but we are grateful that he has become an icon for many and a gem for many more to come”.
