CI-NEWS

Opening Address by The Minister of Communication on the Workshop on Media and Peace Building organiz

2019-08-20

No: 442

Opening Address by The Minister of Communication on the Workshop on Media and Peace Building organized by Cameroon Association of English Language Newspapers Publishers Association.

Yaoundé August 16, 2019

The President,

Cameroon Association of English Language Newspapers Publishers’ Association, CENPA

Distinguished members of the press family

Accept greetings from the Minister of Communication, His Excellency Emmanuel Rene Sadi who is not here due to very urgent matters that came up.

The minister would have loved to be here personally due to the very important content that you people will be discussing today.

The workshop on Media and Peace Building organized by Cameroon Association of English Language Newspapers Publishers Association is very timely as it is no secret that our nation is in crisis and journalists have the responsibility of preaching and building same in critical times like this.

Dear journalists, it is said that information is power and insight can impact on public discourse. This way, perceptions can be changed by access to media. Different types of media are utilised globally to distribute knowledge and idealistically, free mass media is a tool of and signpost for democracy.

The Ministry of communication holds that freedom of expression is not only the core of a healthy media but also a fundamental human right and vital for a democratic structure.

It stands for freedom of speech, the right to information and the representation of different opinions in a heterogeneous society.

In any culture of prevention, effective and democratic media are an essential part and indispensable for societies trying to make a transition towards peace and democracy.

Harry S. Truman once said “You can never get all the facts from just one newspaper, and unless you have all the facts, you cannot make proper judgments about what is going on.

Lack of information can, at any stage of a conflict, make people desperate, restless and easy to manipulate. The ability to make informed decisions strengthens societies and fosters economic growth, democratic structures and the positive outlook on the future.

For this very reason, the United Nations Millennium Declaration stressed the need to ensure the freedom of the media to perform their essential role and the right of the public to have access to information.

Dear colleagues, peace journalists try to uncover the causes behind a conflict and true goals of all participants while making sure to humanise all victims of the conflict.

Journalists do not shy away from difficult, sensitive or uncomfortable topics such as human rights abuses.

In this context, journalists can be considered the helpers of all human rights defenders for they have committed themselves to ethical and moral standards in reporting as well as to addressing important topics in way that can be productive for everyone involved.

At this point permit me salute the professionalism some of you guys have been able to put up in recent times.

I also want to salute the efforts of the Cameroon Association of English Language Newspapers Publishers Association, CENPA, which has been described by many as a baby born walking, for the interest in promoting the much needed peace in our nation.

Congrats to you guys and once again.

Media and journalism can be a great assistance in conflict management and peace building.

The media can be a good tool in a healthy and functioning environment but more is needed than ethical and responsible reporting to ensure lasting peace and safety.

Every aspect of peace building processes needs to be supported by awareness and information campaigns; as such processes require awareness, understanding, and a minimum of public participation. Therefore, media is used not only to deliver general information on those processes but also to support targeted civic education campaigns in different sectors of activities.

The role of the media is twofold: on the one hand, the media report and reflect on pressing issues and can help to question established concepts and ideas.

On the other hand, they can be used for propaganda purposes and instead of revealing truths, try to cover things up and by this curtail people’s freedom and right to information.

However, the potential of the media in conflict and post-conflict situations remains a net positive, and has been sadly underutilized to this point in time.

It is for this reason that the ministry of communication is putting its full weight behind The Cameroon Association of English Language Newspapers Publishers Association in this course.

We hope that at the end of the workshop, the over 40 journalists present here will be true ambassadors of peace and conflict transformers as we strive to take our beloved nation to emergence.

It is on this note of hope that I formally declare open the Workshop on Media and Peace Building organized by Cameroon Association of English Language Newspapers Publishers Association.

Long Live The Cameroon Association of English Language Newspaper Publishers Association, CENPA

Long Live The Ministry OF Communication

Long Live the Republic of Cameroon

And it’s very illustrious Head of State

President Paul Biya

Thanks for your very kind attention

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Opening Address by The Minister of Communication on the Workshop on Media and Peace Building organiz