Motivational & Leadership Training for GMA Staff

Global Media Alliance (GMA), a leading pan-African Media, Communication and Entertainment Company has held a mass training exercise for its growing staff force. The training, organized for close to 100 employees had participants from GMA’s business units; e.tv Ghana, Silverbird, Y107.7FM, Happy98.9FM, Anigye102.5FM, Weekend World newspaper, Sekondi Eleven Wise Football Club, as well as participants from the parent company GMA.

The trainer, Mr. Rinus Le Roux, from UCan Institute in South Africa is a professional speaker, trainer and author and is acclaimed for inspiring many people to identify their potentials and to approach life with a positive attitude. He deals with serious issues in a playful manner and distils them into easily digestible topics such as:

-"Work could become child’s play"

-"It’s all about relationships" and

-"Dear CEO, thank you for the e-mail, hope to see you before my retirement"

In very interactive training sessions organized at the Coconut Groove Regency Hotel in Accra, participants were engaged in several team building activities and lecture sessions on building a meaningful personal life and work life.

Said MD Ernest Boateng, “We at GMA recognize and appreciate the culture of learning and continuous development of employees. In today’s fast-paced economy, if a business is not learning, it is going to fall behind. A business learns as its people learn. As a people-centred organization, employee happiness is also very important to us and so we do our best to ensure that our employees are well equipped to lessen the inevitable pressures on the job. Training programmes such as these are very helpful in this regard especially in a dynamic industry such as the media”.

Staff of the company, after the two-day training were full of praise and commended management of GMA for the positive and helpful initiative.

Many of them said they were very happy with the training, saying it was very inspiring and informative. They said that the training was a re-awakening of simple measures that will help them keep their lives refreshed and meaningful at home, and at work.

GMA has in the past involved staff in many training programmes including international staff exchange programmes. This is the first time though that a training of such magnitude involving so many employees has been organized. Management of GMA have promised to embark on more of such engagements in order to empower their staff and keep them happy.

About Global Media Alliance
Global Media Alliance (GMA) is a PAN African International Integrated Public Relations & Communications Company. Founded in 1998 in South Africa, the company is currently based in Ghana. Our strategic thrust is one of knowledge sharing, ideas creation and innovative thinking. We thus provide a broad range of communication services with a focus on delivering measurable business results to our clients. With interest in Broadcasting, Sports Management, Entertainment, Print and other media and communication services, we are the most vibrant and dynamic media Communications Company in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Contact: GMA Corporate Affairs

corpcom@gmaworld.com

EVER THANKFUL

January 23, 2010 marked my dad’s first anniversary since he passed on. On behalf of my family, I want to express our appreciation and gratitude for your support and encouragement.

Your love and support saw me through those trying moments and continue to give me hope for the future. I lost a dear father and friend, but I’m grateful to God for more of those friends and fathers like you.

I am particularly grateful to those of you who made it to the mountain top ….. guess it was fun all the same. Upon arrival, most of you were amazed and tired after the bumpy journey. Some of you made interesting and funny comments about my beautiful village (“a little village perched on a mountain top” as my grandpa prefers to describe it) I had to laugh despite the sadness in my heart at the time.

Vida and Nana Ayensu, I will never forget those comforting shoulders you offered me to cry on.

Kehinde, I am forever grateful for your kindness and love. You continue to prove to me that you are a true friend, despite my flaws.

Annie dear, what can I say? ….. distance and time could not stop you from showing me love. God bless you, my beautiful friend.

Seth and Amisty, I am so grateful you were there.

My good friend, Mary Ahiavi (now, Mrs. Quansah) and husband, Charles Quansah ……. For making it to the mounting top, I know I can always count on you. Charles, you have found a good wife in Mary, please hold her dear.

Eric Adae and Nii (Calipers Boye), you guys erased my sorrows with your presence. The thought of your presence still gladdens my heart any time I remember that sunny afternoon.

Antoinette, Stella, Randy and the entire GMA entourage …. Thank you very much. Antoinette, I will forever remember the solace you offered me in those loving arms.

Mr. Mark Wiafe, Mr. Ourah Delano and Auntie B …… in a most crazy way, you demonstrated your love for me, I’m ever grateful.

Prof Karikari, Dr. Edward Sackey, Mr. Kwaku Mensa-Bonsu (KMB) Dr. Kofi Abruquah and Fr. Benard Adjei Appiah,....... thank you very much.

Cephas Emmanuel Apronti, Daniel Owusu Achaw, Eugene Ampomah (Kobby), Samira, Edwin Owusu-Ansah, Rodney, Sarfoa, Linda Bobie, Mavis Osei Agyeman, Agbesi Gbafa, Eli Kofi Aba ….. thank you for your encouragement and support.

Esi Esuman Johnson,, Akua Twumasi, Adwoa Assan, Erasmus (daddy), Nash, Kwame Ayesu Kumi, Solo, Sule, Kafui, Elvis and all SCS squad ……. I’m forever grateful.

Kwabena Opoku-Agyeman, Kwame, Elizabeth Quartey, Auntie Millie, Stephany (Mawunyonam), Yvette, Sammy Ocloo, and all former UG Eng Dept colleagues, I am blessed to have come across people like you.

Oduro Kwame, Evelyn Ohene-Opare, Ninette, Stephen Twum, Evans Adu-Gyamfi, Jacob Arhin, Wendy Asare, Nana Andoh, Esther Amprofi, and all Nananom,……. Meda mo ase!

Madam Olivia, Madam Akorfa, Mr. Abache, and Mr, Agbeko, …. you were there for daddy when I couldn’t be there…….God bless you.

Chris Howusu, Nii Amon, and all facebook friends……… you shared in my sorrows ……and it made it a lot more bearable!

Mr. Obed Owusu Agyarko (theboyobed), a friend in whom I am well pleased …… your encouragement meant and still means the world to me.

Lambozy …. My dear cousin who had to bear the brunt of my frustrations …… I thank God you understood and smiled through it all. God bless you

Hellen and Akua …… my beautiful cousins who stood by me through it all, I am grateful.

And oh, what do I call you …… a friend, a sister, a cousin, or a mother????! Ayeley, I am amazed at what you are made of. I have come to understand that you are a God-sent, my angel in this universe. What can I ever do without you? You are my “all-in-one”. I love you.

My dear little sister, Etornam Wochawoe Richlove (daddy’s girl). You are a ray of hope. I thank daddy and God for a gift as precious as you. I love you.

Forgive me if your name is not mentioned. The list goes on and will never end if I want to single out what you each did for me. To everybody else (my colleagues, friends and family), I want to say Thank You for your prayers, support and encouragement.

From the bottom of our hearts, the Nuwati and allied families say a big thank you and God bless you.

I love you all ………. God bless!

Akpe na mi kataaaaaaaaaaa. Mawu neyra mi!

Brooke

January 27, 2010

Fe yeye na mi ………. Merry Christmas!!!

//Jingle bells, jingle bells jingle all the way ,
Oh what a joy, it is to see fanta all the way
Oh jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way,
Oh what a fun it is to see fanta all thy wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.//

Till date, this is my lyrics for the famous Christmas jingle. I never cared to learn the right words because to me, these words capture the true feeling and expectations of the festive season. It’s all about joy, fun and sharing fanta!

Oh how I relish those Christmases I used to spend with my family …. Family was a much bigger term or concept in those days. I my siblings, mum and dad, aunties, grandparents, uncles, cousins, Auntie Adzo’s friend’s little niece and so many other people, I can’t even trace the lineage.

I used to stay awake all night, counting the stars on December 24th night, anxious for day-break, just so I could wear my cute pretty dress on Christmas day. And oh, the presents ….. we didn’t get to open gifts picked from a Christmas tree; but hey, we had more than enough to be joyous for. Uncle Mawunyo gave us some candies and bars of chocolate, big cousin Dela gave us some biscuits, auntie Adisa gave my little brother some toys and oh my God there was lots of food! ….. there was a long table full of different kinds of dishes you would think we had a grand buffet going on. These were food brought by family, friends, neighbours, and just anyone who was moved by the spirit of the season – giving and sharing.

It didn’t matter who wore the best clothes or who got the most expensive gifts; we all felt special at Christmas. My favourite part of the season was the merry-go-round trips I took with my grandma who couldn’t do a 5-metre distance without an aid of a walking stick. But my grandma wouldn’t be deterred by any such hindrances as waist pains. She loved to walk to people’s homes and exchange greetings and good wishes. She would say;

“Efe yeye na mi looooo. Fe yeyea nenyo, netsor nuse, lamese, dzidzor kple nutifafa vana mi sia (meaning, Happy New Year, may the New Year be good; may it bring you strength, good health, joy and peace).

We would go round till grandma felt satisfied that she had visited virtually every home in the village.

These were times that I truly felt happy at Christmas; it was simple, natural and shared. I long for those Christmas days. We can rekindle it by sharing little acts of kindness. Let’s show true love to one another in this season. Spend some time with people you care for, give presents if you can afford. They don’t have to be expensive ….. simple practical gifts are the best. A simple card to say thank you to someone may be enough. Offer free services …. wash a friend’s car, invite friends over to dinner, surprise an old friend with a phone call, put a smile on the face of that little girl you always see on your way to work everyday selling iced water on the street; buy her a dress, a pair of shoes or give her something to be truly happy for.

Christmas is also a time of peace. My grandma went round asking people to forgive her of any wrongs she might have done against them; knowingly or unknowingly.

Let’s celebrate Christmas in the same spirit of forgiveness, sharing and loving.

Merry Christmas! Afehyia Pa!! Fe yeye na mi kataaaaa!!!

Silverbird Celebrities Day

They were there in their numbers and classes; the sensational, the fastest, the notorious and even the saucy. Silverbird as part of their first anniversary celebrations treated their customers to a pull of stars and celebrities in the showbiz industry including music stars, film stars, DJs as well as other TV and radio personalities.

To give fans a unique opportunity to interact with their stars, Silverbird brought together Ghana’s stars of the moment including Kwabena Kwabena, Sarkodie, Tic Tac, Kwaku T, Chemphe, KOD, husky voice- Nana Kwame (Norkus) of Y FM, soul sister, Jessica Sarforo of Citi FM, Jeremie of Y FM, big boss, Bola Ray of Joy FM and many others.

To give the experience a truly personal touch, the stars came down and interacted with their fans in very ordinary ways such as serving them with pop corn ice cream, drinks plus tickets to see great movies. The fans also had the opportunity to take individual photographs and had their stars autograph various items including T- shirts, books, and even pizza boxes!

The fans also rendered acapella versions of their music to the delight of their fans who smartly and quickly recorded the live performances onto their mobile phones and other devices.

“I am very delighted to meet Sarkodie, Bola Ray, Kwabena Kwabena, Trigmtic, Jeremie and all these stars. Congratulations to Silverbird for making this possible. I have always prayed to meet Jessica, she is my role model, and she is really nice in person too. I wouldn’t have met her so up-close but for Silverbird” says elated Juliet Folly.

Joseph Darko who is on a holiday from Kumasi agrees with Juliet, “to have Sarkodie and Norkus serve me with drinks and pop corn is a really great experience. Their handshake was very warm and friendly. Silverbird knows what we want”.

Silverbird was one year old on November 14, 2009 and planned the Celebrities Day Out as one of the events on the calendar to celebrate the anniversary and reward their loyal customers. Other activities lined-up for the anniversary celebrations include Silverbird Kids Day, held two weeks ago for school going children, Silverbird Campus Day which brought together students for great movies at special prices and a grand raffle to be held on December 20, where a lucky cinema goer or shopper at the Silverbird Lifestyle stores will get to win a brand new VW Polo car.

General Manager, Albert Mensah says “We are very grateful for the warm reception we enjoyed in our first year. We owe it all to our loyal customers. We want to reward everyone in our anniversary packages, so we encourage more and more people to take advantage of the last days in this festive season to enjoy our attractive packages and win any of the mouth-watering prizes.

The exciting event was exclusively sponsored by Ecobank.

Silent Scandal Breaks Box Office @ Silverbird

Vivian Ejike’s latest box office “Silent Scandal” featuring Genevieve Nnaji and Majid Michael breaks the rules of silence during its grand premiere at the Silverbird Cinemas over the weekend in Accra. About three of Silverbird’s large cinema halls were filled to capacity with several movie lovers pushing management of Silverbird to arrange for additional showing times on the premiere night.

Pretty face Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji was at her best having been absent from the scene for a while and making her fans crave so crazily for her. It was as if the fans gathered to confirm whether their screen goddess was really back with another bang.

Versatile Ghanaian actor Majid Michael also shown at his best and there’s no doubt that the beau is one of Ghana’s best at the moment.

The audience who gathered to see the movie on the gigantic screens were truly happy and satisfied as summed by 43-year old banker, Samuel Keelson, “this movie is really mind-blowing. I thought I had seen good movies in recent times, but this Silent Scandal is something else”.
Happy and contented Albert Mensah, General Manager of Silverbird Ghana said “We are amazed at the number of people who thronged in to see the Silent Scandal. It was as though we embarked on a door-to-door campaign to bring in the people. Our customers are happy and this confirms the fact that Silverbird is in the business to bring Ghanaians the first and the best. We expect more and more people to come and see this movie and other great ones we have on the menu for this festive season.

The dramatic love story revolves around the hidden and triangular love lives of a strict mother, her spoilt daughter and an indigent ‘playboy’. It has top actress, Genevieve Nnaji, as the lead act, Uche Jombo, Ebele Okaro, Ghanaian import –Michael Majid and a host of other emerging acts. Silent Scandal is an emotional story, where a mother and her only daughter, unknowingly, are torn apart by the true love and lust of an indigent young man. The movie is full of intrigues and suspense from start-to-finish. The movie is produced by leading female filmmaker and honcho of Purple Pine Productions, Vivian Ejike. It was carefully shot with hi-tech production equipment and thoroughly manned by tested professionals.

About Silverbird:
Silverbird Entertainment Ghana Limited is a joint venture between the Silverbird Group, a full service media, entertainment and real estate company with holdings in Radio, Television, Retail Malls and Cinemas and Global Media Alliance, an integrated pan-African media and entertainment company. Silverbird Group also boasts of excellent locations in Kenya with 18 screens at five premier shopping centres.

The Silverbird Group, the third largest entertainment company is taking a bold step in the African retail entertainment market and can guarantee that all products found in any Lifestyle store and Cinemas are legal and legitimate in terms of copyright and intellectual property. Silverbird's objective to establish a world class Pan-African Entertainment Company is well on course, with fast growing establishments in East and West Africa.

Global Media Alliance Supports UG Sch of Comm Library

The School of Communications Studies, University of Ghana, Legon has received some of the latest edition of books on Communication and Media to enhance their library. The books have been donated by the renowned Public Relations Students Society of America (PRSA) at the James Madison University, Virginia, USA.

The benevolent gesture towards the school and its education is a continuing exercise and has been facilitated by Executive Chairman of Global Media Alliance (GMA), Mr. Edward Boateng.

The books range from first-rate communications literature including Public Relations, Advertising, Telecommunications and Journalism. There were also books on management which will go a long way to equip students with media management skills and leadership skills in other related areas.

This adds to the various corporate social responsibility initiatives by Global Media Alliance, a pan-African communications company towards the School of Communication Studies. GMA has previously donated some books to the school and has always granted graduating students internship opportunities as well as employment opportunities. Mr. Edward Boateng has also been involved in mentoring programmes where he shares with students his experiences. He strongly believes Ghana could be a beacon of hope and excellence for media development on the continent if media leaders would only adhere to the ethics of the profession. He believes a strong regulator is needed to advance media development in the country and the African continent at large.

Donating the books on behalf of GMA and the Madison University, Corporate Communications Manager of Global Media Alliance, Ms. Brooke Nuwati says GMA is committed to promoting communication excellence in Ghana and on the African continent and therefore will not miss any opportunities or efforts that are geared towards the realization of such a dream.

“Being a communication outfit ourselves, we know the true value of effective communications and its role in national development. We are always happy to contribute our quota to promote excellence in this all important field of communication. We hope students will benefit immensely from these books” she says.

Thanking GMA, Ms. Audrey Gadzekpo, Acting Director of the School says the school is grateful for the support it continues to receive from Global Media Alliance. She says students benefit greatly from the books and the other learning materials that GMA has provided in the past, because the materials are always carefully selected by someone who is a celebrated thought leader in the industry.

She also adds that the school will continue counting on GMA’s support for materials such as a collection of the stories that make it for the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the year awards since students pick a lot of lessons and techniques as well as inspiration to come up with good journalistic stories and reports.

Light at the end of the tunnel

How often do you not find yourself contemplating on whether or not you are not being considered a fool for doing one thing or the other? Especially when you find yourself doing things that the seemingly high and mighty (oftentimes regarded the wisest) persons would quickly and readily shy away from?

Why must you always be the one cleaning up the mess of others? Why must you be the one making sure the lights and the air conditioners in your office are turned off after work even though your colleagues are fully aware of the implications of wasting electricity and other utilities?

Well, don’t throw up your hands in despair and give up so quickly, because your story may have a happy ending like one told me by grandma about a poor girl who once lived in Afiadenyigba.

Afiadenyigba was a small village inhabited by about 3,000 people. Though the youth (16 – 45years) made up about 60 percent of the population, it was a common thing to find the older citizens engaged in activities that helped to maintain the society clean and safe. They gathered together for communal labour to carry out activities such as clean up campaigns.

There was however a young girl, Enyonam, about nineteen years of age, who was always found among the old folks any time they gathered for any such community activities. It was also common to see Enyonam sometimes weeding the footpath that led to the village riverside, where the entire community went to fetch water. The river was the only source of water for all purposes including drinking.

Enyonam’s mates would ridicule her; call her names like Aprewa or Abrewa Posoposo as they passed by her to the river bank to fetch their water. Some of them walked hand in hand with their young lovers and hooted at Enyonam who ignored them and continued with her work.

Well, it so happened that a huge tree fell down and blocked the only footpath that led to the riverside, making it very difficult for the town folks to cross it to and from the river.

Unfortunately for the town folks, the tree was so huge that any attempts by the usual committed members of the society (the old folks and Enyonam) could not push away or cut the tree off the path to make way. They tried and tried until most of them gave up saying that they couldn’t do anything but wait for the tree to rot away.

The younger men and women on the other hand did nothing to help move the tree; instead, they went round the long tree and with time, managed to create an alternate route to the river, though the new path was very long and rocky.

But not Enyonam, she did not give up entirely, any time she had some free time to herself, she went there to continue cutting the trunk of the tree, still believing that, sooner than later, she would clear the way so the villagers could have their smooth and short path back.

Unknown to everyone in the village, the king had always admired Enyonam and her spirit of diligence and perseverance. He thought and thought about how best to reward the young girl.

And so on that fateful day, the king prayed in his heart that his plans worked as he gathered the entire community at the village square to make his announcement.

The king said “My people, there’s a serious issue that must be attended to in the palace …. It is time for the prince to take unto himself a bride”.

The crowd, especially the damsels went agog with joy …. Oh that the prince will pick me … they giggled among themselves.

"But, there is a condition for this tradition to be fulfilled. Your prince has misplaced his royal necklace and we must find this necklace before we can progress with the marriage. Whoever finds the necklace will be greatly rewarded and should the person be a young maiden, befitting a bride and finds favour in the prince’s sight, she becomes the lucky bride", the king concluded.

As the crowd dispersed, the girls talked excitedly about how nice it would be to be the lucky person to find the necklace. Enyonam, though she prayed sincerely in her heart that the prince found the royal necklace she only went back to complete her task to clear the path. She could not even imagine herself as the lucky bride; after all, everyone knew her as abrewa …. an old lady.

And so she continued day in and day out with her part time job. Gradually, she succeeded in cutting through the big trunk. On the final day however, something happened. Enyonam’s eyes caught sight of the royal necklace under the tree! She quickly picked it up and headed straight to the palace. The king was very pleased and most importantly happy because, no one else but Enyonam had found the necklace. His plans had worked. He has found his son a good wife.

Interestingly, the prince also loved Enyonam and was very happy that she would be his bride. They had a colourful wedding ceremony that became the talk of town in the community and all the surrounding villages for days. The king then revealed how he came up with the plan to teach the young men and women a good lesson. Perseverance pays and modesty is a virtue, he told his subjects.

Aware soooooo !!! … Enyonam.