Journalists from 23 African Countries Meet in Cameroon

Douala conference aims to strengthen profession, regional dialogue

Douala, Cameroon -- Journalists and media representatives from 23 African countries opened a five-day conference October 3 in Douala, Cameroon, on the subject of media and emerging democracies. The conference, organized by the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon, focuses on ways African journalists can work together to strengthen their profession and help each other meet their greatest challenges, as well as begin to establish a continent-wide network.

Cameroonian Minister of Communications Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo and U.S. Ambassador Niels Marquardt opened the conference.  Participants heard Moukoko welcome them to what he called "a milestone in the history of African journalism." The minister expressed pride in the advances made in press freedom in Cameroon in recent years, noting that it was especially significant that the conference was taking place there.  He thanked the U.S. Department of State for selecting Douala as the conference site. Moukoko urged the delegates to strengthen national associations of journalists, to form the foundation for a strong regional network.

He called on journalists in Africa to establish the rules for their own profession, so that controversies involving the press would not be resolved by the courts, but by the profession itself.  The minister said he took pride in the fact that Cameroon is finally preparing to issue licenses for private radio and television for the first time in its  h istory.

Ambassador Marquardt expressed satisfaction that the process of networking begun in Conakry, Guinea; Cotonou, Benin; and Bamako, Mali, has been furthered by the Douala conference.  He observed that journalists have a critical role to play in the fight against poverty, and in promoting good governance and healthy economies -- goals that are in harmony with U.S. policy toward Africa.

Conference organizer Daniel Whitman, of the American Embassy in Yaoundé, outlined the objectives of the conference.  He said that enlarging press freedom in Africa and strengthening media institutions are an important part of U.S. policy in Africa.

Representing an American NGO (nongovernmental organization), the Council for the Community of Democracies, Robert LaGamma told delegates that press freedom in Africa opened the door to democratization. He said it should be a major topic for the Community of Democracies Ministerial Conference to be held in Bamako in 2007.

Following the opening ceremony, participants began to consider the first three themes to be taken up by the conference: ways to create linkages among journalists throughout Africa, the adoption of ethics principles for the profession, and the common definition of the role and working conditions of African journalists.

Participants then broke into working groups to develop recommendations to advance major themes of the conference.  They will continue their deliberations October 4-6, when they address the following topics:

•  Connecting with journalists in the rest of the African continent;

•  Developing regional training initiatives;

•  Drafting labor guidelines for journalists and their employers;

•  Adopting approaches toward journalism associations based on other continents.

The participants will produce a Web site for networking and communication. Another Web site, being developed in Washington to facilitate communication, will become the permanent site for the conference documents.   

The gathering will also include teleconferences with journalists in Moscow, Paris, and Miami.  Participants will present their findings at a press conference on October 5.

In addition to Cameroon, participants have come from Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, and Togo.  Also participating are representatives from France and the United States.