UNIVERSITY OF the West Indies media specialist, communications scholar and technology policy analyst, Dr Hopeton Dunn, has been named to act as secretary general of the prestigious global academic organisation - the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).

Dr Dunn will act in that capacity following the passing of the former secretary general, Professor Ole Prehn, of the Aalborg University of Denmark. Dr Dunn is the first scholar from the Caribbean to serve in this role in the association's 50-year history.

The IAMCR is the leading worldwide academic organisation in the field of media, communications and ICT research, encompassing some 1,800 individual researchers and more than 100 institutional members and universities globally.

The association, based in London, enjoys consultative status with the United Nations and other multilateral organisations. The IAMCR also serves as a think tank to address global development and technology challenges.

Dr Dunn has been an active member of the IAMCR for several years and recently served as the co-chair of the association's policy and technology section and as joint chairman of its Special Task Force on Global Media Policy.

He is also chairman of the Broadcasting Commission, a board member of the National Library of Jamaica, and a member of the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO.