8th FAAPA General Assembly Wraps Up in Salé

23 January 2025 Printable Version

Salé - The 8th General Assembly of the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (FAAPA), themed “African Press Agencies as Vehicle for Promoting the Continent’s Health Sovereignty,” wrapped up on Thursday in Salé.

This large-scale event gathered Directors-General from several African press agencies, alongside media and health experts, as well as eminent personalities from different backgrounds.

On this occasion, a high-level panel, themed “the media as a linchpin in helping manage health crises in Africa,” was held, providing an opportunity to emphasize the leading role of the African Academy of Health Sciences (AAHS) in Dakhla as an institution dedicated to promoting research and development in the health sciences in Africa, with the ambition of becoming a hub for health development on a continental scale.

Several bilateral cooperation and partnership agreements have also been signed during the second day of this event, between FAAPA member press agencies.

This Assembly, chaired by FAAPA President and Director General of the Moroccan Press Agency (MAP), Fouad Arif, also adopted the Federation's action plan for 2025, which covers a number of areas, including the organization of meetings, professional training and qualifications, multimedia, communication, cooperation and partnership.

It also reviewed and adopted the report of the 7th General Assembly, the report on the 9th FAAPA Executive Committee meeting held last October in Abidjan, and the report on training seminars.

The 8th FAAPA General Assembly was also marked by the awarding of the Federation's Grands Prix for the 2024 edition. The Grand Prix for best article went to Mohammed Al-Amine Ikhibi, a journalist at MAP, while that for best video report went to Kamongnin Sylla, a reporter-photographer at the Ivorian Press Agency (AIP), and that for best photo was presented to Abdou Khadre Dieylani Seydi, a reporter-photographer at the Senegalese Press Agency (APS).

Founded in 2014 in Casablanca, FAAPA is a professional platform for reflection on the future of news agencies and the role they must play in the 21st century in their respective diversities and specificities, taking into account the profound changes characterizing the media landscape in the context of globalization and in the age of multimedia.