BY EPHREM ANDARAGCHEW
ADDIS ABABA-The African Union (AU) has extended its unreserved support for the establishment of a Pan-African media that has been recently proposed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD).
The African Union (AU) Chairperson and Senegalese President MackySall on Sunday said that AU is ready to provide substantiate support for the idea that having a Pan-Africa Media.
The idea of a Pan-Africa media is imperative and expected to counterbalance representing Africa as a continent troubled by civil wars, hunger, corruption, greed, disease, he said adding that poverty is demeaning and dehumanizing and likely driven by a calculated strategy and agenda.
AU chairperson, hence, said that he strongly supports the idea of establishing a Pan-African media organ that will be one of the biggest media houses in the world and able to convey the voice of Africans in 24 hours through broadcasting and printing way.
“Having Pan-African media is key to advocating African stance in the world, building our own narrative, transmitting appropriate information about Africa, and showing the positive side of the continent.”
According to him, the Pan-African media is also vital to disclose the success stories of women and youths, governments that are working tirelessly to modernize the continent and put Africa in the appropriate place in world stages, to talk about African literature, culture, identity, scientists, and the future of Africa.
The concern of Prime Minister Abiy , therefore, for establishing Pan-African media is significant and requires all Africans to push it further to become reality, he noted.
The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat on his part said that AU is committed to realizing the proposal of PM Abiy to own a Pan-African media that is necessary to perform various tasks.
“Since we have social media networks, communication has become very fast nowadays and has both advantages and challenges for building the image of Africa.”
“Taking this fact into consideration, it is important to improve the negative narrations of the continent. More importantly, we need the Pan-African media to express our identity, vision, interest, cultures, the Africa what we want projects and so on,” he said.
The February 8/2022
