African Media has a role to play in promoting African culture

Garrett Ziegler photo

By

Gift Friday

Young African Journalists who are gathered in Cairo for a three week long media training course have been urged to raise awareness about the socio-economic benefit of African cultures.

Addressing the 22 young African Journalists at the supreme media council and training center, journalist Mohamed El Shafey said that more needs to be done for the African countries to revive its rich cultural diversity.

“Most of the African history was not written by Africans, therefore it is time to rethink and rewrite about the real African culture based on the African context and content,” he said.

The Egyptian prominent journalist and writer said that it is a big shame for a continent rich in diversity to be described by the Western World as the poorest in the world.

“There is a high need for different organizations within the continent to enrich African culture other than the western Countries,” he added.

El Shafey called upon the African Union to convene a summit in order to discuss African cultures. He said the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi believes industrializing is an international desire for better Africa.

While presenting his paper on African culture and its socio-economic impact, Shafey said the media should be at the forefront to raise awareness and public opinion about how African-rich cultures are being faded away by colonizers.

“It is high time African countries start cultivating the culture of interacting with other countries that stood against western cultures.”

India is one of the countries in the world that banned the importation of second hand clothes and has now become one of the world’s leading producers of textile products.

In African culture the “self” is not separate from the world; it is united and blends together with the natural and social environment.

22 Journalists from Egypt, Zimbabwe Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia Sudan, South Sudan, Gambia, Niger, Angola, South Africa, Congo, Senegal and Ivory Coast, Uganda, Djibouti, Tunisia, Lesotho, Botswana and Gabon, are attending the 52nd training course for Young African Journalists organized by the Union of African Journalists (UAJ) in collaboration with Ministry of Information of the north African country.

Gift Friday

Freelance Journalist from South Sudan, based in Kampala.