AMI

Launch of the Eighth General Assembly of the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies (FAAPA)

Sale/Morocco

On Wednesday, the Moroccan city of Salé will host the 8th General Assembly of the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies (FAAPA), of which the Mauritanian News Agency (MNA) is a founding member.

The two-day event brings together the directors general of FAAPA member news agencies or their representatives, as well as media and health experts and other VIPs from different backgrounds.

The theme for this edition is “African News Agencies, a tool to promote the continent’s health sovereignty”.

In addition to the main theme, the first day of the meeting included a high-level panel discussion titled “The Role of Media in Managing Health Crises in Africa,” which discussed questions about the future of African press agencies with their diversity and specific characteristics.

In his speech during the opening ceremony, Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication Mohamed Mehdi Ben Said described the role of African press agencies as “crucial”, as “the nerve that will connect this dynamic grouping that is our continent full of potential”. He also emphasized the essential role of communications, media and journalism in the context of Africa’s emergence on the global stage.

For his part, Ivorian Minister of Communication and Government Spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly (guest of honor) noted that African press agencies should become places to promote African initiatives in the field of health by promoting the discoveries and work of health researchers on the continent, considering that strengthening the capacities of news agencies in science and health journalism is a condition for specialization.

President of the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies and Director General of MAPA, Mr. Fouad Arif, explained that press agencies, through their dual role as citizens and operators, are a key player in the health resilience of African countries.

He recalled that all Africans experienced this African resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, “a health crisis accompanied by a real media crisis.”

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