{Various African leaders have called on news organizations to give greater focus to African development issues .The message was conveyed yesterday during the 7th edition of the African Media Leaders Forum held in South Africa in which more than 600 participants convened in Johannesburg.}
The forum was organized by the African Media Initiative (AMI) following consultations with media practitioners on the challenges facing the industry. AMI work centers around the improvement of media content, ethics, and professionalism.
The President of Mauritius, Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim who officially opened the forum requested media to boost coverage on development content.
“Media owners and practitioners must be active, not passive in tackling development topics, generating local solutions while nurturing citizen engagement and development debate,” the President told the audience comprising experts in the fields of media, technology, development, and policy formulation.
She extolled media to “become activists, not pacifists in the search for Africa-centric development solutions that are economically viable, socially relevant and environmentally benign”.
The Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security of the Chairperson of the African Union, Bineta Diop, in her remarks called on media to “serve as a catalyst for change by shifting the narrative on women and bringing hidden stories into the light’.
“Africa contributes the highest number of female peace keepers,and women were at the forefront in the fight against Ebola. These and many more stories remain untold”. She added
The Forum’s centers on the role of media in shaping development conversations in an increasingly digital environment. The two-day event will particularly look at ways of enhancing the quality of media content in order to influence governance, and build stronger, more economically viable and informed societies.
Speaking at the official opening, Dr Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa made a vibrant appeal for media in Africa to use African generated data instead of relying on Western produced information when telling the African story, noting that “ the data that informs the narrative, dictates the story”.
It is expected that delegates of AMLF 2015 , will benefit from several sessions which provide in-depth, expert insights from around Africa and the world including: Bridging the digital divide in newspaper distribution and circulation; innovative business models for small and medium-sized busineses; as well as radio and social media convergence.
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