Empowering senior African media executives, raising their orientation towards geopolitical developments and learning more innovative skills of disseminating information to the public audience are the main components of the first short-term training programme planned in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It also aims at creating a broad platform for consolidating interaction between Russian and African media outlets, and most importantly, for forging new connections.
The orientation programme titled, “Russia – Africa: The Way of Friendship and Cooperation” – for senior editors in the state and private media organizations across Africa, organized and launched by Alpha-Dialogue, St. Petersburg-based NGO with a focus on education and culture, in collaborating with the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund and overwhelmingly supported by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
It partners with the Association of Economic Cooperation with African States (AECAS). As the name implies, AECAS is a corporate business NGO structure created after the first Russia-Africa summit (October 2019) for the development of economic ties between Russia and Africa. Alpha-Dialogue’s official website indicates that it closely work in partnership with Rossotrudnichestvo which is a Russian government agency for foreign aid and cultural exchange in the former Soviet republics and foreign countries.
With more than 70 participants expected from Russia and nine African countries, the two-day intensive programme focuses on more than 10 analytical reports, for the media representatives from Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and other African countries.
According to programme, Analytical Reports: “The Image of Russia in African Media — The Image of African Countries in Russian Media” and “Media of Russia and Africa: Pathways of Interaction, Topics, Resources” will be discussed by the participants, while the Master Classes: “Contemporary Journalism: Challenges and Solutions” and “Combating Disinformation and Promoting Accurate Reporting” will also be conducted by experienced professionals and thought leaders from Russia and Africa, offering diverse insights and perspectives on the evolving media landscape. In addition, there will also be a series of open online lectures for a broad audience! The purpose of these sessions is foster a deeper understanding of the multifaceted cooperation between Russia and Africa.
The media initiative came up as a follow up to summit panel discussions about rolling out a comprehensive strategic roadmap for a more integrated cooperation and to find effective ways of improving public diplomacy in Africa. The panel discussions noted that the consolidation of versatile ties with the Sub-Saharan African countries remains a major part of Russia’s foreign policy strategy, which is acquiring special significance in the context of tremendous changes in the global arena.
One official document made available on MFA website, titled “Concept of the Russian Federation on Cooperation with African Media” stresses the need to cooperate with African media as Russia looks forward to strengthening relations and share strategic interests with Africa on international arena.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports the Alpha-Dialogue’s pilot programme organized for the African media group in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The participants from this pilot programme will be at the forefront to highlight Russia’s economic and cultural aspirations, shape the African perception about Russia and, of course, raise Russia’s image and reputation among the political and business community, and the general public in Africa.
Since the two Russia-Africa summits, this is one more symbolic steps on media cooperation by St. Petersburg-based NGO, Alpha-Dialogue, to bridge the media gap with its inherent geopolitical implications, to boost the soft power to an appreciable level and to ultimately strengthen bilateral relations between Africa and Russia. In this context, Russia should use media platforms to advance its interests, creating a positive image through media diplomacy.
The reality is that Russian and African media partnership is essential at this crucial time, especially after the resonating first summit (October 2019) and highly-praised second summit (July 2023). The lack of information both ways, to a large degree, hinders bridging Russia and Africa, – while Western media have long been working to promote their agenda across continent. For decades, Russia’s media influence in Africa, despite recent efforts to establish its presence, still remains marginal. In the face of the current heightening geopolitical situation, there is the need to create new credible platforms for African-Russian interaction.
In conclusion, taking more innovative measures in building the capacity of media will, to a large degree, help to strengthen entire Russian-African bilateral relations, and further promote Africa’s socioeconomic trends and growth under the continental Agenda 2063.
Kestér Kenn Klomegâh has a diverse work experience in the field of international relations and his focused interest includes geopolitical changes, foreign relations and economic development related questions in Africa with external countries. As a recipient of awards and honors, he has several media publications, policy monographs and handbooks.
