Biography

My Profile

Gilbert Busuulwa

Kampala

President/CEO

Tags: African-American Media  

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Supplementary Information

Title/Occupation:  Executive 

Services Provided:  Seminars/Workshops 

Gender: Male

Race: African-American/Black

Citizenship: Uganda

Languages Spoken: English and Luganda

Biography: In March 2001 immediately after the Presidential elections, with few of my journalist colleagues I spearheaded the establishment of Uganda Media and Research Foundation (UMERFO), aiming at restoring a liberal and functioning media sector in Uganda that had been politically manipulated by 2001 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Since 2001 when I started practicing journalism, I have put emphasis in Information and Communication Technologies strategies, to accelerate my reporting capacities as well as coordinating various media related projects efficiently. During the 2006 Presidential and Parliamentary election, I profoundly extended my skills in initiating and implementing the 2006 Election Media Monitoring Project" that helped in supervising the 2006 election and reported back to the mainstream media, and later in 2007 I spearheaded the development of the first journalism- based ICT strategy in Uganda dubbed I-media Forum, that ensured maximum utilization of e-journalism approach by Ugandan Journalists during the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Kampala - Uganda. The above inventiveness for the first time in 2006 introduced me to acclaimed ICT personalities and Institutions in the whole World, when I was crowned "Excellence in ICT Journalism in Africa" of the prestigious "African ICT Achievers' Award" held in Johannesburg - South Africa and subsequently UMERFO scooped the "Top Civil Society/NGO to bridge the digital divide" in 2007. In July 2008, Dr. Ham Muliira the former Minister of ICT appointed me to chair the National Committee of ICT Journalists, in the ministry's quest of increasing the ICT concentration in the media. During my five-year journalism exercise with WBS TV (2001 - 2006) as a Kampala based Correspondent, I was introduced to various public, private and CSO Organizations' projects/programs and ably produced over 25 multi-sectoral video documentaries, in partnership with UTV (now UBC) and Uganda Film and Television Institute (UFTI). I accomplished the production and presentation of a one-year Luganda CBS - CHOGM Radio Project dubbed "Amakula ga Commonwealth" in commemoration of the historic Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2007. My travel experiences all over Uganda and in UK, USA, Republic of South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Southern Sudan, have introduced me to Diplomatic, International Relations and United Nations Knowledge. I am currently the Special Projects Manager of Ssuubi Broadcasting Company Ltd the owner of Ssuubi FM, charged with initiating projects/programs with an aim of enhancing market of Ssuubi FM in the respective coverage area. As the president of Uganda Media & Research Foundation, I have concluded the concept development of the UMERFO Five-year strategic Plan (2009 2015), aiming at accelerating the implementation of Millennium Development Goals projects, by involving journalists at all levels of development. Some of the programmes include "Uganda Excellence in Journalism Awards" to accolade media professionals in their reporting folds, "Global Exchange for Development" introducing Uganda Society to international MDG knowledge, Uganda National Journalism Conference and "I-Media Forum" a platform to increase ICT usage and reporting within the journalism society in Uganda.