African press agencies are urged to play a central role in asserting the continent's sovereignty, said, on Monday in Salé, chairman of the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (FAAPA) and Director General of the Maghreb Arab Press Agency (MAP), Fouad Arif.
"Today, sovereignty is becoming increasingly crucial, given the developments our sector is going through and the ever-growing complexity of current issues on our continent, » noted Arif, who was speaking at the opening of FAAPA’s 7th General Assembly, held under the theme: "African newsmaking: a major sovereign stake".
In this regard, he stressed the importance of focusing on means to rise to this challenge in order to create a vibrant forum for discussing the crucial issues pertaining to African sovereignty in the field of information.
This recovery of sovereignty should entail a real evolution in media discourse, which must be distinguished by a reappropriation of the national narrative on an individual level, and that of the collective narrative on a continental level, added Arif, stressing that the aim is to enable African information to be handled with a genuine African "touch", by selecting themes, perspectives, and contributors that reflect the realities of our continent.
“Our goal is to work together to reposition African specificities at the core of information handling, be it cultural, political, or economic,” he pointed out.
Arif also underlined that the 7th FAAPA General Assembly is a major gathering, which also brings together media experts and prominent figures from the African Atlantic region, along with the Directors General of African press agencies, to engage in an in-depth panel discussion on the theme: "African Sovereignty in Action: Perspectives on Information and the Initiative for the Atlantic region".
This panel is designed to highlight the role that press agencies at large, and FAAPA in particular, play in promoting information cooperation along the Atlantic coast, supporting development initiatives in the Sahel-Atlantic region, and upholding the media sovereignty of the African states, said FAAPA chairman, adding that in this context, the media, and in particular national press agencies, have a major role to play in promoting a collaborative approach to shared development.
The panel will also contribute to enriching debates on the creation of an institutional framework bringing together the Atlantic African States to consolidate security, stability and shared prosperity in the region, he stressed, recalling that this institutional framework was initiated a few months ago with the Speech delivered by King Mohammed VI, May God assist Him, on November 6, on the 48th anniversary of the Green March, and in which the Sovereign had pointed out that "My goal is to transform the Atlantic region into a space for human interaction and economic integration, and to make sure it plays a key role at continental and international levels."
"In view of the potential offered by the Royal Initiative for the Atlantic Façade to strengthen regional integration and cooperation, the structural transformation of our economies, and the improvement of living conditions for our populations, it is our common interest, even our duty, as African press agencies, to echo and perhaps even champion it," insisted Arif.
The 7th General Assembly of FAAPA brings together, for two days, Directors General of African press agencies, media experts, and eminent personalities from the African Atlantic region who will explore ways to strengthen African sovereignty through information and dynamic initiatives along the Atlantic facade.
Participants in this General Assembly will explore, through interactive sessions, debates, and sharing of experiences, the means by which African press agencies can play a central role in asserting the sovereignty of the African continent.
