The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the Pan-African body of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), today met Claver Gatete, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss strengthening media engagement in Africa’s development priorities and journalism’s role as a public good.
The FAJ delegation was led by its president, Omar Faruk Osman, and included Treasurer Maria Luisa Rogério and Steering Committee Member Jean-Claude Coulibaly. Discussions focused on the role of the media in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and how access to reliable information and information integrity can support inclusive and sustainable development. The delegation also raised journalists’ working and economic conditions and the importance of public interest journalism, highlighting the indispensable role journalists play in key areas of UNECA’s mandate.
The meeting focused on equipping African journalists with the data and expertise needed to report on these issues. Gatete asserted UNECA’s commitment to facilitating journalists’ access to information and evidence to help amplify African perspectives. He also underscored the role journalists play in shaping the African narrative and telling the continent’s story in ways that advance people-centred development.
“Independent journalism plays an important role in helping people understand the decisions and policies that shape their lives and in supporting informed public debate on Africa’s development. People-centred development and homegrown solutions are strengthened when citizens, including journalists, have access to reliable information and can contribute fully to public life,” said FAJ President Omar Faruk Osman.
“We welcome UNECA’s recognition of the vital role journalists can play in its work on Africa’s development priorities. Closer institutional engagement can help African journalists explain the developmental priorities and bring African perspectives into public debate. We remain committed and effectively mobilised to advancing public interest journalism and ensuring journalists partake in conversations about the continent’s future while fulfilling their crucial watchdog role,” FAJ President added.
