Cameroon: Bilingualism Commission Member George Ngwane bags Promoter of Press Freedom Award

By Boris Esono Nwenfor [caption id="attachment_96281" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Mwalimu George Ngwane has been a vocal voice for press freedom in Cameroon[/caption] On the occasion of the celebration of the World Press Freedom Day, renowned writer, pan-Africanist and member of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism Ngwane George Esambe is set to bag another national award in his fight to see the freedom of journalists being materialised in the country. In a communiqué dated April 29 from the Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Associate professor Dr Kingsley Ngange noted that Geroge Ngwane is to receive the Promoter of Press Freedom in Cameroon award on Tuesday, May 3 on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day. Through his organization AFRICAphonie, the astute writer and political analyst have for over the years been engaging media practitioners on the aspect of press freedom in the country while also urging the government to look into the media laws in the country that need to be modified. [caption id="attachment_96282" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Mwalimu George Ngwane poses with media practitioners after a workshop on press law and access to information on March 24. Photo by Boris Esono, PAV[/caption] On March 24 in Buea, AFRICAphonie schooled some fifty journalists on Press Law and Access to Information funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. That training was the second phase of the project after the multi-stakeholder conference that had taken place in Yaounde the previous month. With the various training being organized, the founder and Executive Director of AFRICAphonie George Ngwane hope that the media professionals will engage the government on laws that impede the exercise of their profession and be equipped with skills in digital journalism which will help towards a transparent regulatory system - a system that guarantees the right of freedom of opinion and expression in Cameroon by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Who is George Ngwane? Mr George NGWANE was born in 1960 in Ngomboku, Tombel sub-division, Kupe Mwanenguba Division of the South West Region. He is the holder of a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, a Diploma in the French Language, a Postgraduate degree in the English language from the University of Yaounde and a Post-graduate diploma in Environmental Education from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. He is a writer, teacher and civil society actor, a Senior Chevening Fellow in conflict prevention from the University of York (UK); a Rotary Peace Fellow from the University of Chulalongkorn, Bangkok, Thailand; a Commonwealth Professional Fellow tenable at the Minority Rights Group International London; a Bilingual Commission Scholar at the Welsh Language Commission, Cardiff Wales and a United Nations Minority Rights Fellow from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland. A leading Pan Africanist to the core, Mwalimu George Ngwane has authored close to a dozen books . For some three decades now , Mwalimu Ngwane continues to edify readers with quality writings in local and international papers .