Media practitioners and trainers on Monday, October 9, 2017 converged on Alberione Institute of Communication Education (AICE) ground under the umbrella of faculty members of the institute to chart the way forward for the emerging media college in Nigeria.
The director of the Institute, Fr. Jikson Mullasseril warmly welcomed the faculty members to first session of its kind and charged them to be selfless in carrying out their responsibilities.
Fr. Joe Eruppakkatt conducted half day orientation for the faculty. He highlighted some of the things expected of the lecturers and engagement terms to include imitating Christ Jesus, whom he described as the foundation of the Church and the greatest communicator; who never deviated from the truth and stood by it even up to his death on the cross to liberate human kind.
According to Fr Joe Blessed James Alberione, the media icon and founder of the religious order of the Society of St. Paul presented Jesus to the world as the way, truth and life using the available media platform of the time to propagate this. He told the assembly that the Society of St Paul which has a humble beginning with just five boys at the turn of the 20th century now exist in well over 34 countries.
He advised the faculty members to edquip student to stand for and by the truth, challenge the power that be when things go wrong knowing full well their lives may be at risk. They should be morally and ethically sound as a core value of the training institute he added. Jesus remains the most prominent journalist who spoke against injustices of the time, corrupt leaders and has to pay the supreme price of being the ardent voice of the voiceless. He charged the lecturers to inculcate in the student courage, boldness and fearlessness in line with the vision of the promoters of the media college. He further told the faculty members to be role models, be punctual at work, and have the zeal and passion for the job. They should, as he puts it figuratively, accompany the students in their academic pursuit and that every student has something to offer society if properly guided.