Sputnik Holds Session with African University Leaders as Part of Russia-Africa Media Forum
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Sputnik news agency and radio broadcaster held a session on the future of journalism education with the heads of leading universities and research centers across the African continent.
The discussion titled "Training a new generation of media professionals: The experience of Russia and Africa" brought together:
Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, Chancellor of the University of Limpopo from South Africa;
Sayeh Kassaw Agegnehu, President of Debre Markos University from Ethiopia;
Idrissa Ousseini, Director-General of the Higher Institute of Journalism and Communication of Niger;
Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa, Vice-Chancellor of Kaduna State University from Nigeria;
Hassan Mohammed Khannenje, Director of the HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies from Kenya.
The session was moderated by Vasily Pushkov, Director for International Cooperation at Sputnik.
Addressing future journalists, Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma particularly emphasized the importance of relying on one's own agenda, ensuring the accuracy of information, and using technology responsibly: "First, I think they should know their own story, they should not be taking stories from somewhere else, and they should be always factual, and of course technology assists, but technology must not be a driver."
President of Debre Markos University Sayeh Kassaw Agegnehu highlighted the importance of strengthening professional skills in multimedia production and fostering cooperation between Russian and Ethiopian journalists and media professionals: "It is essential to build the capacity of professionals, especially in multimedia production. Undoubtedly, the partnership between Ethiopian and Russian journalists and media professionals offers high advantages. This is what we are expecting and what we want to promote."
Idrissa Ousseini, Director-General of the Higher Institute of Journalism and Communication of Niger, responding to a question about the future of the profession, said: "First of all, we choose the profession of journalist because we believe that a social responsibility has been entrusted to us. We would like to contribute to informing society and to help our community understand a wide range of phenomena."
Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa underscored the importance of educational exchanges and cooperation with media companies: "Over the past six months, together with the Sputnik news agency, we have carried out a series of projects focused on digital technologies in media education, particularly on content production using artificial intelligence."
Information hygiene is now becoming a fundamental issue, and that training a new generation of media professionals is impossible without a complete change in the philosophy of journalism education, including the restructuring of academic programs, director-general added.
Director of the HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies, Hassan Mohammed Khannenje, emphasized the need to move beyond discussions of strategic initiatives toward their practical implementation and the assessment of tangible results: "It is time to go beyond the talk and start walking the walk. Inaction is not an option when it comes to this kind of metric. And so ours is going to be measured by strategic plans of action we’re going to put in place going forward so that in the next meeting we’re going to have it is taking stock of what we have achieved," the expert stressed.
The Russia-Africa Media Forum is part of the extensive program of the Economic and Humanitarian Forum and the third Russia-Africa Summit, which is taking place in Moscow on 28-29 October 2026.
