August 23, 2010…Mandeville, Jamaica….Nigel Coke/IAD Staff
Television producers and on-screen hosts in the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (WIU) benefited from a recent training program organized by the Inter-American Division (IAD) and WIU, in collaboration with the Hope Channel. The producers and hosts will go on to participate in the upcoming ‘Project Hope’ series of television programs. The training took place at WIU headquarters in Mandeville, Jamaica, from August 17 – 18, 2010, and was directed by Kandus Thorp, vice president of the Hope Channel.
“I am impressed and inspired by the talents for television in God’s family,” said Thorp. “The series for ‘Project Hope’-West Indies Union are outstanding in creativity and content. I believe the church in this region will be proud to have programs that represent them to the global Adventist family and to provide a unique picture of who Adventists are in this part of the world. There is an excellent team here locally who are capable of producing good quality programs.”
‘Project Hope’ will be comprised of 130 programs organized into eight series, which will be recorded from Feb. 21 to Mar. 12, 2011. Show topics will include health, music, family life, gender issues, children, youth, the church and the community, and preaching.
Pastor Leon Wellington, vice president and communication director for the church in Inter-America, believes that “the training has been very practical in helping the producers and hosts to execute what is required in the various sections of the programs. I feel pleased with what has been accomplished so far as well as the energy and enthusiasm of the team including the technical and set design personnel,” he said.
‘Project Hope’ is described as an intensive, creative, cost-effective production done on a short-term basis. The project uses many volunteers to assist in the production of more than 100 television programs in less than one month. More than 2,000 programs have been produced in places such as Africa, Australia, the Philippines, Europe, and North America.
Ken Nelson, manager of ‘Project Hope’, in his reflection on the training, said, “It was extremely beneficial to all of us, especially the producers and hosts. Mrs. Thorpe has imparted valuable information based on her years of experience in television production. My job is to ensure that the momentum gained from this training will follow through to the time of recording.”
“The training was great, a well spent two days,” said Pastor Kemar Douglas, who will both produce and host a series titled “The Church and the Community.” “It is one thing to read the Project Hope Manual, but it is another thing to have the expert there guiding you practically on how to get the job done. Kandus’ eye for details, technical competence and suggestions, have greatly benefited us all and it would be great to have her present at the time of the recordings as the production would only excel in quality.”
The next stop for ‘Project Hope’ will be India, where more than 400 programs will be produced in two studios throughout the next two months.
Hope Channel is an Adventist family-friendly television network that spans the globe. Their global network broadcasts to every inhabited continent via satellite and is widely re-distributed by terrestrial rebroadcast — cable, internet and direct-to-home TV — to people of different nationalities and language.
