About CARIMAC

Background information

In 1974, in response to demand from media practitioners and others, the Government of Jamaica established the Caribbean Institute of Mass Communication with the assistance of UNESCO, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftüng Foundation and USAID.

The name of the school was later changed to the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication in order to reflect CARIMAC's expanding role in research and advanced education.

CARIMAC offers both theoretical and practical courses to equip our students with the professional knowledge, values and discipline they need to become effective communicators in an increasingly complex world.

The theoretical courses are in the processes and effects of communication, planning and research. The practical courses (called media specialisation areas) give training in the skills and techniques of modern communication media.

CARIMAC graduates are trained for professional work in print, radio, video, multimedia and public relations. While we do not pretend to produce instant professional or technical experts, we believe our graduates leave with professional attitudes backed by a sound intellectual framework with which to apply their skills.

CARIMAC does not confine itself to its Mona campus. Its outreach programme includes, among other initiatives, the hosting of regional seminars in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries. These seminars play an important role in bringing communications and other practitioners from all over the region to discuss and solve problems and issues affecting the region. In seminars, workshops and conferences, CARIMAC has been responsible for enhancing a Caribbean consciousness and a higher level of cooperation between specialists involved in the environment and health sectors in particular.

CARIMAC believes that in the long run, the sensitive application of intellect and skill will raise the capacity and improve the performance of our media systems, thereby contributing to the development and accessibility of our cultures and the achievement of a more satisfying life for all.

As the only regional tertiary level communications school, CARIMAC is the Caribbean representative in the network of Global Journalism Training Institutions (JOURNET).