A restatement of ACFJ’s vision and a restructuring of its educational and training programs were among the top recommendations for the next five years that emerged from ACFJ’s two-day strategic planning workshop held July 11 and 12 at the Loyola Campus.
The proposed vision states “ACFJ is the preeminent institution equipping journalists with leading edge competencies relevant to the needs of Asian societies.” Fresh inputs to ACFJ’s mission were also discussed.
A workshop group composed mostly of faculty members proposed to re-design the existing diploma programs in photojournalism and multimedia journalism so these would lead to a master’s degree in journalism. This would mean that courses taken in the diploma programs would be recognized as graduate-level credit courses.
The other workshop groups tackled strategies seeking to enhance ACFJ’s online presence and other recruitment strategies, foster alumni relations and ensure continuing faculty development.
The workshop, facilitated by Dr. Edna Franco, assistant to the president for organizational development, sought to revisit ACFJ’s vision, mission and strategy in light of transformation in journalism processes and structures as well as the organizational changes at the Ateneo.
It was foregrounded on inputs from ACFJ stakeholders including university officials, representatives of partner organizations such as the World Press Photo, faculty members, alumni and students.
Dr. John Paul Vergara outlined the Loyola Schools strategic plans and ACFJ’s place in them.
Faculty members discussed innovations and trends in the news media and in journalism education. Among them were Dr. Randy Reddick, Prof. Kim Kierans and Dr. D J Clark.
Dr. Clark, who joined the group only on its second day, delivered his input through a video. So did Maarten Koets, WPPh deputy managing editor.
Inputs were also provided by alumni presently holding key positions in their news organizations, namely, Edi Utama, executive editor, Antara News Agency, and Arlene Burgos, social media director, ABS-CBN.
Twenty-four participants representing faculty, students, alumni and university officials took part in the workshop.
Activities to firm up and carry out the recommendations will be planned by the ACFJ management by October. (VBV)
