One-year anniversary of Dr Doris Dartey: Two books to be launched in her honour
Two books would be launched on Wednesday, July 28, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the passing of Dr Doris Yaa Korantema Dartey, a communication consultant, at the Ghana International Press centre, in Accra.
Dr Dartey passed on at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Sunday, July 19, 2020, after six-years struggle with metastatic breast cancer.
The books: “The Watch Woman: A compilation of columns,” and “When Breast Cancer Strikes” would give new readers some historical perspectives of the happenings in her days.
A release issued to the Ghana News Agency on Sunday said the articles carefully selected for “The Watch Woman: A compilation of columns” will give those who loved to read her columns a befitting memoir.
“It is also expected that this book will help young, budding journalists to excel in their fields of endeavour as well as inspire both current and future columnists. These articles touch on issues of the environment, sanitation, health, children, gender, politics, economics, and human rights.”
The second book: “When Breast Cancer Strikes,” recounts her personal experience with breast cancer and advocates for public education on cancers; early diagnosis, regular screening and above all the dangerously self-inflicted, dismissive, and carefree attitude toward cancers.
Dr Dartey earlier, in her carrier, worked as a Public Relations Officer at the State Enterprises Commission. After her advanced studies, she practised as a journalist with the “Daily Graphic” and taught Communication and Public Relations at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
In the USA, she taught Public Relations at both the University of Dayton and the Mount Mercy University.
The release said in her later years, Dr Dartey managed her own thriving, consultancy firm: the ‘ORGCOM Insights’, as a full-time Communications Consultant, working for many donor-funded projects in Ghana and also for international institutions.
They included the Institute of Local Government, the Nordic Development Fund, the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, UNESCO, JICA, CIDA, FAO, GIZ, the STAR-Ghana, the Natural Resource Governance Institute, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Accreditation Board.
Dr Dartey undertook several communication skills training programmes for corporate organisations, helped to revamp and run the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana, performed several public services and served on many corporate boards in the United States and in Ghana, including the National Media Commission and the Board of Directors of the Graphic Communications Group Ltd., of which she later became the Chairperson.
She devoted considerable energy and support to her professional body, the Ghana Journalists Association, in varied capacities.
She was the host for the “Talking Point” and “The Probe” programme on GTV, and for 12 years, she wrote the “WatchWoman” column in The Spectator, a national weekly newspaper, stirring up issues on politics, sanitation, children, health, stigmatization, fraud, and corruption among other thorny societal topics.
“To her professional journalism colleagues, PR practitioners as well as several young journalists, Dr Dartey was a mentor. She affected and challenged many young women and men, who took her as their role model.”
In personal encounters, Dr Dartey came across as an extraordinary sharp person, who spoke her mind often, but who also made people feel comfortable. She had the gifted ability to make people feel welcome.
“Join us as we celebrate the life of Dr Doris Yaa Dartey,” the release said.
Source: GNA