Gibbings, a Trinidadian newspaper columnist, freelance journalist and media trainer will receive this award in recognition of his work over the decades in the promotion of press freedom throughout the Caribbean.
The function will be held on August 11.
The Percy Qoboza Foreign Journalist Award earns its name from the late South African journalist, Percy Peter Tshidiso Qoboza.
Qoboza was editor of The World, a Soweto newspaper.
His dynamic columns ranged from coverage of the 1976 Soweto riots to the tragic horror of apartheid and the white minority government’s treatment of millions of black Africans. He remains a credit to his profession and has been an inspiration for many journalists.
Gibbings has been a journalist for over 35 years and is the founding president of the ACM which was established in 2001.
He is also a former president of the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (Matt) and has served on the Council of the International Freedom of Exchange (IFEX) and the inaugural Steering Committee of the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD).
Gibbings’ journalistic career has spanned the broadcast and print media. His work has not only been disseminated in the Caribbean region but has been published in newspapers and journals internationally.
His significance as one of the region’s premier journalists has included extensive published works on Caribbean media affairs and he has presented papers on a wide range of subjects related to press freedom at conferences and seminars all over the world.
Gibbings has also edited and contributed to a number of journalistic handbooks and has served as visiting lecturer at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication, University of the West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica and as a training coordinator for the Media Development Authority of Fiji.
He is well known in Latin America and the Caribbean for his work on the promotion of press freedom and freedom of expression and is regularly cited on issues related to the media industry in the Caribbean. He has also been involved in journalism training programmes throughout the region and has served as a mentor to many.
