New Times Corporation, GSA resolve to strengthen relations

The Ghana Science Association (GSA) yesterday paid a courtesy call on the management of the New Times Corporation (NTC), publishers of The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator to strengthen the relationship that exists between the two institutions.
As part of the courtesy call, GSA presented a certificate of appreciation to the management of NTC for sponsoring the 19th biennial workshop of GSA held last year.
The certificate of appreciation was presented to the management of NTC by the Scientific Coordinator of GSA, Mr Forson Dzotor, on behalf of the National President, Professor Gideon Kofi Helegbe.
He was accompanied by Hajia Ramatu Balah, Scientific Administrative Officer, and Mr Eugene Hammond, the Marketing Officer of GSA.
Mr Dzotor said the presentation of the certificate was an opportunity for the GSA to deepen its collaboration with NTC, as it was one of its key partners.
According to him, the advertisement of the 19th biennial workshop of the GSA by The Ghanaian Times helped in informing the citizenry about the mandate of the GSA.
“At the end of the workshop, we came out with a communique. Indeed, the first advert they [Ghanaian Times] gave us was not for everything. But when we came out with the communique, we approached again, and they made us understand that they will give us full publicity,” Mr Dzotor said.
“That was the pre-workshop and not the post-workshop. But before we realised, we were given 50 per cent discount to publish the communique, which we saw as very benevolent and supportive of science in general,” Mr Dzotor added.
Furthermore, he noted that the GSA, recognising the importance of science to the socio-economic development of the country, organised training for science and mathematics teachers in senior high schools on a regular basis.
In addition, Mr Dzotor said a number of institutions had been formed through recommendations from scientists to the GSA and collaborations established with the private sector to improve science in the country.
On behalf of the management, the Acting Managing Director of NTC and Editor of the Spectator, Mrs Georgina Quaittoo, expressed gratitude to GSA for selecting The Ghanaian Times among the many media houses.
The gesture she said would be the beginning of a new chapter in their collaboration.
For his part, the Acting Editor of The Ghanaian Times, Alhaji Salifu Abdul- Rahaman, remarked on the evolving relationship between scientists and the media.
He said that back in the days, scientists operated in their own comfort zones from their laboratories and relied solely on publishing their journals to disseminate their findings.
He added that scientists believed the media would struggle to comprehend their technical language, which could lead to misreporting and, therefore, kept their work from journalists.
However, he expressed gratitude for the gradual shift, where the scientists now engage the media, making the media active in scientific work and research.
“I’m glad scientists are now opening their doors for the media to engage with their work by inviting them to workshops, conferences, and other activities,” he noted.
Emphasising the role of the media in simplifying scientific concepts for the public, Alhaji Abdul-Rahaman said: “We have the skills and knowledge to break down scientific terms into language that the everyday person can understand.”
The GSA is a voluntary, non-profit, and multidisciplinary association of scientists, which was established by Ghana’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah with the primary objective of promoting science, technology, and mathematics (STM) education and research in Ghana.
In attendance were the Acting Chief Accountant of NTC, Mr Eric Nkum Antwi’ the Advert Sales and Business Relation Manager, Suleman Osman, the Acting Human Resource and Administration Manager, Ms Portia Hutton-Mills, Acting Internal Auditor, Ismaila Atta-Ulah, Mr Emmanuel Offori Addo, the Acting Channel Manager, and Mrs Edzodzi Can-Tamakl;oe, Supervisor, Advert Sales and Business Relation of the the NTC
BY CYNTHIA ASAMPANA