For the first time, the international news and radio agency Sputnik participated in the General Assembly of the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) as an observer. Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos, Director General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), welcomed the presence of Russian and Chinese media at the event in Abudja, Nigeria.
"The world has become a globalized village, so we cannot be isolated from the rest of the world. And I think that coming together in large numbers like this, from all the continents of the world, is a plus for the AUB," said the manager.
Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos, Director General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
© Sputnik
He called on Sputnik to cover more African news: "You have a cross-pollination of ideas […]. I think it's just a welcome idea and I would like to encourage you to continue".
"The partnership of Russia, China and also some Latin American countries is a positive point for Africa because we need the know-how of these countries; they are big countries", for his part declared Mohamed Bouslimani, Algerian Minister of Communication.
Many topics were discussed during the session, which ended on May 19 in Abuja.
“We talked about digitalization […]. We also talked about intra-African trade issues. We talked about the fight against cancer and we created a network of African journalists for the fight against cancer […] So it's a very good meeting that is coming to an end", summarized Grégoire Ndjaka, director general of the AUB. He added that the union would soon organize a summit on artificial intelligence in Kigali, Rwanda.
Grégoire Ndjaka, director general of the African Union of Broadcasting, and representatives of Sputnik Africa in Abuja, May 19, 2023
© Sputnik
"The biggest thing we have today is training. We have to train people, our staff, because we receive a lot of news […]. But this information, which is often good subjects, are not always well covered", he underlined.
The African Union of Broadcasting was established on October 30, 2006 in Abuja. The AUB aims to defend the interests of Africans and to promote the autonomy of women and young people on this continent.