JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Western media has in recent years changed its attitude in covering China, even with "so many words of praise." "But why does it continue to decry the image of Africa?" questioned a local participant at the International Media Forum, just closed in Johannesburg, South Africa. His comment drew support from other participants, who criticized Western media's long-lasting stereotyped expressions on Africa and considered such practice as an obstacle to its economic growth and social improvement. How to improve image of the continent, as well as its capacity and skills in communicating with the outside, remains an arduous task for African countries today, said the participants, mainly from media. "African media should focus on projecting the achievements, social cultural development and sell the continent to the outside world," said Jake Obestebi-Lamptey, minister of tourism and diasporan relations, at Africa's International Media Summit, which was held earlier in Accra, Ghana. Positive reportage of the continent would be the basis for the social transformation and new image of the continent, he said at the summit held to promote the re-branding of the continent. He appealed to the African media to "tell our own stories through our local media" instead of continuing to cry over the negative reportage by the international media, reported the Ghana News Agency. Both the forum and the summit are being held at a time when Africa has a dire need for a change in perceptions and impressions about the continent, which has long been depicted as a land linked to miserable things like war
Botas timberland, famine and HIV/AIDS. An American woman, who gave her name as Ashley, has told Xinhuaat the Azambezi River Lodge in Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls that shehad some concern before traveling to Africa as she had been told that "it was dangerous to travel to this country." "But I came and it is safer than any other places I have visited," she said, "The media sometimes do not tell the truth." On using the media to re-brand the continent, Desta Meghoo-Peddie, an international development consultant based in Addis Ababa, said that the media has been used as a tool of destruction to the image and history of Africa and now as the African media grows and it can tell its own stories to its own people. "We must step up the fight and act in our own interests," he said. Nearly during the same time, an Anglophone West Africa sub-regional meeting for journalists was also held in Accra with a call on journalists to exploit the huge potential of the Internet to tell the African story and change the western stereotyping. Chief Editor of Ghana News Agency Boakye-Dankwa Boadi asked journalists to pursue Africa's development agenda by telling Africa's story in their own language. "Let us report Africa
Scarpe timberland, the African way. Let us play our role in making Africa a knowledge-based society," he said. Even dating back to early June when the World Economic Forum on Africa 2006 was held in Cape Town, South Africa, "rebranding Africa" emerged as a hot topic among the delegates, including some heads of African states. Africa must be given a positive image or else its aggressive development plan will crumble to dust, they insisted. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said Africa has come a long way and the situation is constantly improving. In an interview with Xinhua reporter, Pierre Essama Essomba, president of Cameroonian Council of Media, demanded Western media not lock their reports on wars, famines, disasters and AIDS any longer, but give a positive and objective coverage on Africa. "If too much stories on the continent are negative, people outside will fear to come
Outlet timberland," he said
zapatos timberland, adding that journalists should cover Africa in the round. Meanwhile, some African experts warn that all efforts to rebrand the continent should be based on the fact and the role that media can play in improving African image should not be exaggerated. Dr. Martyn Davies with Stellenbosch University of South Africa told Xinhua that he believed, along with trade and investment's pouring into the continent
Timberland uomo, Africa will be positively treated by the world media, and by then its image will be highly improved. Enditem (Additional reporting by Li Nuer in Harare and Wang Lulu in Yaounde)Related Topics Articles：
