Catholic communicators elect Cuban as president of Signis

Members of the international Catholic communicators' organization, Signis, elected Gustavo Andujar of Havana as their new president.

Andujar had served since 2005 as one of the vice presidents of the organization.

Working for the Archdiocese of Havana, Andujar directs the Father Felix Varela Cultural Center, the Catholic quarterly magazine "Espacio Laical," and the Catholic journal "Ecos." He is a member of the archdiocesan pastoral secretariat and of the social communications secretariat of the Cuban bishops' conference.

Since the mid-1960s, he has been a film reviewer for the Cuban section of the Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audiovisual. After being elected president of the Cuban section in 1994, he worked to strengthen ties with other Cuban professionals in the world of cinema and television.

During the Signis assembly in Rome Feb. 27-March 1, delegates also elected two vice presidents: Frank Frost from the United States and Lawrence John Sinniah from Malaysia.

Frost is a television producer from Washington, D.C., and a movie critic, who has explored spirituality and cinema. He is chair of the Signis jury at FilmfestDC and has served on Signis juries at the Venice, Berlin and Monte Carlo film festivals.

Sinniah, the outgoing president of Signis Asia and coordinator of the Signis global video journalist and media education programs, is a creative consultant for Public Media Agency, an enterprise based in Kuala Lumpur dedicated to promoting cultural change through the media. He also founded a network of communications professionals to assist nongovernmental and not-for-profit social agencies.

With members in 140 countries, Signis works with media professionals and Catholic communicators to promote Gospel values in the media. The organization is also known as the World Catholic Association for Communication.