The Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) has a new Chief Information Officer. Tyson Henry, 34, took up the reins of the organisation on Thursday, December 1.
A graduate of Combermere School, Mr. Henry holds an Associate Degree in Mass Communications from the Barbados Community College (BCC), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, along with a Masters in Tourism Marketing, from the University of Houston in Texas.
After returning to Barbados in 2012, Mr. Henry joined the staff at the Nation Publishing Company in 2013, as Magazine Editor in the Fourth Estate section.
Following a near four-year stint at the Nation, he seized the opportunity, in 2017, to work in Dominica as Communications Specialist to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.
Less than six months after taking up the post, category five Hurricane Maria struck, leaving him homeless and with just his duffle bag containing his camera equipment, laptop computer, passport and clothes.
“That was where being versatile came as a strength. It was all hands on deck. You got to do a bit of everything. After Maria, I was homeless. Everyone was. I lost my roof long before the eye came,” he recalled.
He returned to Barbados in December 2020 and later worked in the COVID-19 Communications Unit, where he was responsible for promoting prevention messages during the height of the pandemic.
Eventually, he went on to be the Deputy Director of the Public Affairs Department before taking up the post of Chief Information Officer.
As new Chief, Mr. Henry’s vision for the department is to develop a better work flow in relation to government’s communication systems. He would like to see a system that is devoid of duplication and more efficient and effective as it relates to the public sector.
He also would like to see a change in the way government communicates with its publics. “I find government communications can be a bit predictable. I would love if we are ourselves and instinctive. There are angles that we can pursue,” he said.
In addition, Mr. Henry wants to see more students from the BCC’s Mass Communications programme interning at the BGIS going forward.
Mr. Henry credits much of his achievements to his tutor at the BCC, Mr. Tony Cave. “I didn’t know he was a retired Chief Information Officer while he was there [at BCC]. He provided huge mentorship on journalism and I decided to continue,” he said.
He added that Mr. Cave’s modern way of thinking and his insistence on being versatile, encouraged him to sit in on broadcast classes at the BCC, even though he majored in print.
“Here I am today, many years later, because of the advice he gave. I have an understanding of broadcast and print. He is big on back pack journalism. That ties in with my vision. I don’t believe in approaching something just solely thinking of your strength; you have to think about the other facets of journalism,” stated the new Chief Information Officer.