Ouagadougou, The president of the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT), Dr. Ousmane Bougouma, urged on Wednesday the opening of the 10th edition of the International Festival of Freedom of Expression and Press (FILEP) , the African media to be pillars of peace.
“I truly urge the African media to be pillars of peace, social cohesion, democracy and good governance,” urged the President of the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT), Dr Ousmane Bougouma.
To achieve this, Dr Bougouma specified that it is important that our sub-regional and even African entities on a continental scale achieve strong and solid media which transcend borders and which stand the test of time.
The president of the Transitional Legislative Assembly spoke on Wednesday, in Ouagadougou, at the opening of the 10th edition of the International Festival of Freedom of Expression and Press (FILEP), scheduled for October 18 to 22, 2023.
The festival is under the theme: “Media, conflicts and social cohesion in Africa”.
Dr Bougouma indicated that the theme is more than topical and shows that journalists are fully aware of their mission and their responsibility, that of containing rather than destroying.
“The situation in Burkina Faso and its neighbors in the sub-region requires that we sit down and talk to each other about the conditions to overcome this crisis and emerge united and strong,” he added. .
For him, the media are “a vector of social cohesion”, but using the media in a certain way can unfortunately be a source of conflict.
“I hope that your meetings will allow you to come up with concrete proposals so that the media can be real allies of governments in our actions to find a way out of crises,” he concluded.
250 festival-goers from different countries are taking part in this 10th edition of FILEP.
Namibia, ranked first African country in terms of press freedom by Reporter Without Borders, is participating in this 10th edition of FILEP as guest country of honor.
Three pioneers, including Me Halidou Ouédraogo, Jean Claude Meda and Professor Kari Kari Kwamé from Ghana, were made Ambassadors of freedom of expression and the press.
Activities are planned such as conferences, photo exhibitions, film screenings and a gala evening for the Norbert Zongo investigative journalism prizes.
FILEP, a biennial event, was initiated in 2000 on the sidelines of the commemoration of the second anniversary of the assassination of journalist Norbert Zongo.
It was initiated by three structures: Media foundation for West Africa based in Accra, the Norbert Zongo National Press Center (CNP-NZ) and the Burkinabé Movement for Human and Peoples' Rights (MBDHP).
Norbert Zongo is a Burkinabè journalist who was assassinated on December 13, 1998, while investigating the suspicious death of the driver of François Compaoré, younger brother of ex-president Blaise Compaoré.
Source: Burkina Information Agency