New times call for new thinking

A recent declaration from a media scholar that “new times call for new thinking” is a fitting description of the winds of change blowing through African media today, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba has said.

Speaking at a forum on media and development in Burkina Faso on 12 September 2008, Ms Masire-Mwamba urged African governments to actively encourage free speech and build stronger media partnerships in order to enhance their countries’ development.

Some 300 media scholars, journalists and other stakeholders attended the forum and discussed the responsibility of the media in good governance. It ended with a declaration on support for media development to foster development in Africa. The Commonwealth Secretariat has been invited to partner in this programme.

The forum took place between 11 and 13 September and was organised by the commissions of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU).

Ms Masire-Mwamba said the media should provide a realm for debate, be the voice of the people by accommodating all views, self-regulated, and supported by legislation that allows freedom of expression.

“The role of mass media in promoting good governance is paramount,” she emphasised. “It is what we see in action when the government provides a borehole to a dilapidated rural school because a journalist reported that 6-year-old pre-school children have to walk a mile to fetch water.”

Ms Masire-Mwamba told the forum about the recent Commonwealth report, ‘Civil Paths to Peace’, written by a group of experts led by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. “They stressed the importance of the media in drawing public attention to such issues long before they become fully blown problems,” she said.

The media has been a critical partner for the Commonwealth Secretariat, contributing to the delivery of its governance work, she went on to explain.

“It has provided the platform for debates, highlighted some of the abuses of government control over the media, set standards, trained journalists – just as we are doing in the Commonwealth Secretariat under the Commonwealth Media Development Fund, where we have trained over 6,000 journalists in 12 years.”

Ms Masire-Mwamba cited new initiatives from the Secretariat which aim to accelerate and intensify the quest for free and independent media.

These include seminars on the rule of law for journalists from Kenya, Barbados, South Africa, Zambia and Fiji Islands, as well as media training on the environment and climate change in India for journalists from India, Maldives, Fiji and Uganda. She also noted the Secretariat’s work with 12 Caribbean countries on reporting on climate change, a workshop on skills in post-conflict reporting in Kenya, and improved newsroom management for media women in Zambia.

“The Commonwealth’s media and parliament initiative in Guyana this year aimed to develop a favourable legal and political environment. By this means, the public can be provided with all the information it requires to make informed democratic choices and decisions.

“This can be replicated for Africa. We would be happy to join with you in doing so.”

Ms Masire-Mwamba was one of several guest speakers at the first joint forum by the AU and EU commissions since they formed a strategic partnership at the Europe/Africa summit in December 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal.

According to AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping, the two commissions are aiming to show that Africa and Europe are seeking common solutions to the problems that confront them this century.

Other speakers at this EU-Africa forum included Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore, Ghana’s Information Minister Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Burkina Faso's Tourism, Culture and Information Minister Filippe Sawadogo, Côte d’Ivoire's Communication Minister Ibrahim Sy Savane, PANA Director-General Babacar Fall and Rwanda's Information Minister Louise Mushikiwabo.

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Key Links:

• Governance
• Commonwealth Media Development Fund