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| Mr. Patrick Markey from USCCB |
The delegates from the USCCB Office of National Collections and Catholic Media Council (CAMECO) have asked AMECEA Secretariat to accelerate the process of implementing ICT Policy in order to meet the challenges the Catholic Church is facing on ICT.
During the consultative meeting held at AMECEA Secretariat on 8th July 2015, Mr. Patrick Markey, Mr. Fritz Zuger from USCCB and Ms. Petra Stammen from CAMECO commended the work already done and in the draft form. They asked the coordinator of AMECEA Social Communication, Fr. Chrisantus Ndaga, to quicken the final process of the document so that its implementation is done without further delays.
AMECEA Secretariat, in the quest to become ICT compliant, has already developed a draft copy of ICT Policy for the secretariat, with an intention of having it adapted by the national conferences of AMECEA to fit their respective situations.
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| Ms. Petra Stammen from CAMECO |
Fr. Ndaga expressed his profound gratitude to the USCCB for the Solidarity Funds that enabled the facilitation of AMECEA Social Communications workshop on ICT in May 2015. The workshop was attended by the Bishop Chairman of AMECEA Social Communications Rt. Rev. Charles Kasonde of Solwezi Diocese Zambia, National Communications Coordinators from AMECEA Conference and journalists working in Catholic Institutions of AMECEA Conferences. He also thanked Ms. Petra of CAMECO, who worked as a consultant to the project.
According to Fr. Ndaga the document is supposed to be presented to AMECEA Executive Board Members for approval before its adaptation.
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| Mr. Fritz Zuger from USCCB |
Markey also pointed out that a good ICT Policy should be able to capture all aspects of an organization and therefore it is important to develop a policy that is well rounded to capture all aspects, including the finances and not just the communications aspect. He also suggested the need to come up with a policy handbook that can be made available online for easy access of information.
During the 18th AMECEA Plenary Assembly in Malawi in 2014, AMECEA Bishops committed themselves to encourage pastoral agents to embrace the New Media and ICT and the communiqué delivered at the end of the plenary Assembly stated: “In the AMECEA region, we will continue to empower our Social Communication Departments in order for the Church to fully embrace new forms of media as modern ways of propagating the Gospel. We urge pastoral agents to make responsibly use of media and contribute to the content. Furthermore we caution all people against misuse of social media.”
Source: Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News