CAPE TOWN, July 20, (GNA/Xinhua) – African
media leaders said here on Thursday that there must be more intensive
collaboration between Africa and the BRICS in the media sector so that the
authentic African story can be told and the continent’s successes celebrated,
as the African story and the BRICS story are intertwined.
They made this call when they attended a panel
discussion on BRICS media and Africa held under the 3rd BRICS Media Forum,
which concluded on Thursday in Cape Town, South Africa.
Among the significant issues that emerged in
the course of the discussion and interactions with delegates to the forum were
the need to establish an authentic, durable and economically sustainable media
footprint on the continent through which the real African story could be told,
effectively building a counterpoint to Western media outlets which have long
dominated the African media landscape.
Carol Annang of New Times Media Ghana, said
that the issue of how the African story is told and who tells this story can
only be addressed in a holistic manner, where African media institutions take
initiative to radically shift course.
“Africa needs our own distribution
platform, identifiable with us, which we control, which is not dictated by
Google, or other entities which have been dominant,” Annang stated.
She explained that this platform could be
realized through a proper and structurally sound collaboration with
institutions of growing prominence in the BRICS.
“Africa has a significant population
which is a force to be reckoned with, but first we’ve got to start by
collaboration, talking to each other, relating, getting to know one another,
and in this way we build confidence with each other and with BRICS,” she
stated.
Aly Ramji of The Exchange, Tanzania, also
addressed the question of the collateral damage that results from an improper,
deliberately distorted or unauthentic reporting of certain stories, where
certain outlets served particular agendas in how stories are reported.
Ramji later explained that there could be a
significant counterpoint in ensuring a holistic recounting of the African
story. But to achieve this, it would require partnerships with BRICS to deal
with capacity building initiative.
“The challenge is to realize that there
are gaps in African media which cannot be fulfilled so entities from the West
dominate the media landscape,” Ramji said.
Ramji said that BRICS entities can help Africa
to build capacity, disseminate news from an African perspective, thereby
building alignment and strengthening an authentic footprint, Ramji stated.
Andrew Kangwa of the Kenya Standard stated
that “we have our own unique stories that we must tell. We must celebrate
our successes and we must go beyond what we have done now,” Kangwa
added.
The two-day forum was co-hosted by South
Africa’s Independent Media and China’s Xinhua News Agency and themed as
“BRICS Media Cooperation – Fostering an Inclusive, Just World Order”.
GNA