A team of journalists has formed a network that will bring together media professionals from across the East African Community in an ambitious initiative that will transform the region’s media landscape.
The East African Journalists Platform (EAJP) aims to advance the regional integration agenda and encourage networking among journalists in the region. It will also enable quick exchange of information on events across the region using its wide network of journalists.
The Platform will work closely with the EAC Secretariat, Organs and Institutions. It will also establish linkages with regional businesses, development organizations and umbrella bodies.
The formation of EAJP followed a series of meetings in Nairobi, Bujumbura and Kampala attended by journalists from all the five EAC member states. The meetings coincided with regional meetings being held in those capitals, the latest being the Media Summit and EAC Heads of State Summit held in Kampala at the end of November.
The 54 founding members of the Platform are drawn from all the five EAC Partner States. The group includes journalists from both print and broadcast areas and is drawn from a wide spectrum of media houses.
It is chaired by Kenyan freelance writer and editor Isaac Mwangi, who is also a columnist with the East African News Agency. He is deputized by Florence Apolot of WBS TV in Uganda.
James Karuhanga of Rwanda’s New Times newspaper is the Platform’s Secretary, while Peter Saramba of the Mwananchi Newspaper in Tanzania is Assistant Secretary. The Treasurer is Florine Mukeshimana of Radio Publique Africaine in Burundi.
The media houses with members in the network include the IPPMedia in Tanzania, Nation Media Group, Standard Group, Radio Africa Group, Citizen TV and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation in Kenya; and Fedeco Radio, Mwananchi and Zanzibar Leo in Tanzania.
Uganda is represented by journalists from the New Vision, Kings Broadcasting, and Uganda Network Radio, among others. Rwanda’s representation includes journalists from the Rwanda Focus, Radio Izuba, and Radio Huguka. Burundi has journalists from the Burundi Press Agency, Iwacu newspaper and Radio-Télévision Nationale du Burundi, among others.
Apart from the Platform, other media bodies that are expected to be formed in the near future include an East African Media Council as well as a separate body that will bring together media owners and other stakeholders in East Africa.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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