By Gloria Amoh
At the Minister’s press briefing at the Ministry of Information in Ghana to host 3rd Africa Media Convention, the Senior Programme Manager of Media Foundation for West Africa, Mohib Saeed explained that, this media convention is another opportunity to show that the country is committed to promoting press freedom.
According to him, it is an honor to on behalf of the Media Foundation for West Africa pledge on flex and support for this initiative. He mentioned that, about six years ago Ghana had the honor of hosting the World to the global celebration of the World Press Freedom Day.
“It is another opportunity for us to show once again that we are a country that is committed to promoting price freedom and freedom of expression”. He said
Mohib Saeed emphasized that, they are organizing this at a very crucial moment when the continents have come under a lot of scrutiny. For various infractions against the media.
He also highlighted that, in North Africa, the Arab Spring failed to provide the democratic dividends that were respected. He again mentioned that, the media is on life support in much of North Africa. In East Africa, you have a lot of ATF autocrats, who are perpetuating themselves in office and they are doing so with very repressive tactics against the media.
“In West Africa, which used to be the vehicle of coping as far as democracy is concerned. We have four of our countries now under military rules, and the civic space almost completely shuts and so this is a welcome opportunity for us to bring together all stakeholders to brainstorm on how to improve the fortunes of the biggest, which apart from suffering violations is also undergoing very tremendous upheaval as far as sustainability is concerned.” He stated
Additionally, he advised that, it is important for all everyone to throw their weight behind this initiative and ensure that we have a successful discussion out of which the media will emerge stronger and more vigorous.
“Once again, I pledge the support of the media foundation for West Africa for this great initiative”. He added
Background
The 3rd Africa Media Convention is scheduled for May 15-17, 2024. It is an annual media convention with a collaborative effort supported by African media stakeholders, to reflect on the fundamental role of journalism on the continent, celebrate fundamental principles of press freedom and deliberate on measures to safeguard media freedom and promote access and access to information, the safety of journalists and media visibility in Africa Union member states.
