Young journalists from 14 African countries sharpening skills in Egypt.

This is the focus of a three-week training which went underway in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday September 16, 2023. It marks the 57^th training session of Young African Journalists.

The training is organised by the Training and Media Studies Centre in Egypt, in collaboration with the Supreme Council for Media Regulation.

The official launching ceremony took place at The National Radio and Television broadcasting house of Egypt, Saturday September 16. 

The event was chaired by the President of the Union of African Journalists, UAJ, Mahfouz Elensary.

Also present at the ceremony were the General Secretary of the Union of African Journalists, Dr Zienab Abass; the First Vice President of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, Saleh El Sally; journalists from The National Radio and Television broadcasting house of Egypt and participants of the training.

Participants at the ongoing 57th training session are drawn from Togo, Senegal, Congo, Kenya, Tunisia, Morroco, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Egypt and Cameroon.

Welcoming participants at the official launching, the General Secretary of the Union of African Journalists, Dr Zienab, told them to make Egypt their second home.

“The union has trained about 2,000 journalists from Africa,” Dr Zienab disclosed, adding that it holds two sessions annually with 25 journalists from other African countries and five from Egypt. 

“I regret the fact that due to economic crisis the number of countries has been reduced to 14,” she lamented. 

Dr Zienab however expressed hope that the situation will get better in the future to enable the body continue training the original number of journalists they started with. 

This edition of the training, she disclosed, will feature three modules. The first module will touch on political and economic issues, the second will X-ray media issues and the third will consist visiting touristic sites in Egypt to permit participants get acquainted with the country.  

The Secretary General of the Union of Independent Journalists in Togo, Eli Goka-Adokanu, thanked the organisers for the opportunity to be part of the training and for the efforts done in empowering journalists on the continent.

“This training will permit participants to be fully equipped in carrying out their functions effectively,” Goka-Adokanu said.

He said with a constantly evolving global dynamics, it is more important to empower journalists to be up-to-date with global trends. 

Zoom on first training 

The participants had their first training session at The National Radio and Television broadcasting house of Egypt yesterday Sunday September 17.

The session was led by Former Assistant Foreign Minister Advisor to the Minister of Local Development for International Cooperation, Mohamed Hegazi.

He touched on Egypt and its membership to join the BRICS Plus. Hegazi described Egypt’s membership as a framework for a new global economic and political development.

“The BRICS brings together the largest developing countries of the world, represent around 41% of the global population, around 24% of the global GDP and around 16% of global trade,” he explained.

The next presentation at the first session dwelled on “putsch in Africa and Impact on the Continental free zone”. This was handled by the Advisor to the Union of African Journalists, Ambassador Ahmed Haggag. 

Participants at the training are expected to be drilled on immigration and displacement and the impact it has on human rights in Africa. They are also expected to be schooled on the New Media and Artificial Intelligence.

Participants will in the course of this week have sessions on the empowerment of women and youth in the frame of sustainable development; natural resources conflict between superpowers in Africa.

They will also be drilled on social media as an industry of discord in Africa; the future of digital media, the reality and challenges; food and water security in the continent.

Participants will at the end of this first week visit the Alexandria City and also make a trip to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Union of African Journalists, it should be noted, was established in 1974 with the collaboration of other African Unions. It will next year be celebrating 50 years of existence.