Penplusbytes elects New Board Chairman

The Board of Directors of the International Institute of ICT Journalism (Penplusbytes) has elected Mr Bryan Pearson, an international publisher to steer the affairs of the organisation as board chair for four years.

Mr Pearson would be assisted by Mrs Charity Binka, a senior journalist and a gender studies lecturer at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), as Vice Board Chair.

A release signed by Mr Kwami Ahiabenu, President of Penplusbytes and copied to GNA on Tuesday said the new executives were elected at a recently held meeting in Accra.

Mr Pearson thanked Dr Kwabena Riverson, his predecessor, the inaugural chair of the board for four years, for the leadership and strategic direction he provided to the organisation during its fledging growth.

Mr. Pearson said: “Penplusbytes is at a critical stage in its organisational life. My vision is to drive its Pan-Africa growth by establishing offices and partnerships in key African countries to ensure Penplusbytes can provide more services to its growing international network of members.”

Mr Pearson is the Managing Director (MD) of FSG Communications Ltd, publisher of Africa Health Journal since 1978; and MD of Asempa Limited, publisher of the 55 year-old Africa Confidential Newsletter.

He is also the MD of the Afrocet group of companies in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya, which has become a leading deliverer of conferences, exhibitions and management training within the region. He is a leading observer on Nigeria, where he has spent a considerable part of his life.

Mrs Binka, the newly elected Vice Chair of Penplusbytes, is also the Manager of the GIMPA Gender Development and Resource Centre and Executive Director of Women, Media and Change and African Media and Malaria Research Network where she serves as the Executive Secretary.

Mrs Binka rose to the rank of Editor-in-Chief at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation in Accra where she worked for 18 years. She has done several presentations on gender and media issues and had covered several international conferences.

All the other Board Members reiterated their commitment to support the new board leadership to ensure that Penplusbytes mission and vision was achieved.

They are Ethan Zuckerman, Director - MIT Centre for Civic Media, Mr Kwami Ahiabenu, President of Penplusbytes, Mr Dan Gillmor, Director of the Knight Centre for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University, Mr Kofi Mangsi, Director and Co-Founder Penplusbytes, Mr Nnenna Nwakanma, Africa Regional Coordinator for Alliance for Affordable Internet project, Dr Joseph Siegle, Director of Research at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, and Mr Andrew Kwasi Kafe, Board Secretary.

Penplusbytes is established on July 18, 2001, and has become a leader in driving the use of new digital technologies to enable good governance and transparency, supporting good governance of oil, gas and mining (extractives sector) resources and revenues and driving innovations in quality journalism through the use of new media.