Jose Marti Students Exposed to the Work of the JIS

Students from the Jose Marti Technical High School in St. Catherine were exposed to the inner workings of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) and given a motivational boost, during a tour of the agency on April 29.
The fourth formers were introduced to some of the work carried out by the Editorial, Radio, Research and Public Relations departments, where they met and interacted with staff. They were also shown around the Print Shop and the Graphics department.
As part of the experience, the students were also able to see what it was like to work in a media environment and develop a product as they got into the radio studio and recorded a chorus from the song, ‘This is Jamaica’.

Chief State Liaison at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), Mr. Ian Boyne, shares some of his experiences as a teenager with students from the Jose Marti Technical High School in St. Catherine, as he makes a motivational presentation to the group. The students toured the agency’s head office in Kingston on April 29, and were able to see how the JIS carries out its function as the information arm of government.

However, their tour went much further than learning about media and communication and about the work of the JIS. Chief State Liaison at the JIS, Mr. Ian Boyne, shared with the students some actions they could take to ensure that the future they envision for themselves become a reality.
“You have to know that for you to do well in the work field, for you to move on to university, what you are doing now is very important. If you are wasting the time now, if you are not spending the time on the reading and the studying now, you won’t get to move on,” Mr. Boyne cautioned.
Drawing examples from his own life, he told them about the steps he took to ensure that he would have the future he wanted, such as reading and staying away from bad influences. He also advised them to “do things when you don’t feel like it,” learn to control their emotions and develop their interpersonal skills.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mrs. Donna Marie Rowe, also shared with them some of the obstacles she faced in trying to achieve her goals and challenged them to remain focus and get a sound education.

Press operator at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), Mr. David Stewart, demonstrates the various stages of printing to students of the Jose Marti Technical High School in St. Catherine, who toured agency’s offices in Kingston, on April 29.

Mrs. Rowe also exhorted the students to become agents of change in their school and communities. “Let us strive to be positive for our country. Let us believe in Jamaica and believe that we can make a difference and believe that we can make a change in our country,” she urged.
The CEO added that the JIS was striving to be an agent of change in the lives of persons who watch, listen or read the output from the agency. She noted that the JIS was also seeking to make a difference through its various outreach initiatives, such as the adoption of the Mount Olivet Boys’ Home in Manchester.