The sixth General Assembly of the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies (FAAPA) has voted the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Guinea News Agency (AGP), and the Gabon News Agency (AGP) as members of its Executive Council.
The Council is the highest decision making body of the Federation made up of 25 African news agencies.
The Council provides strategic direction for the Federation, coordinates and takes decisions on policies of common interest to member agencies.
The Council also monitors the implementation of policies formulated by the General Assembly.
The inclusion of the new Council Members follows the adoption of two proposals at this year’s General Assembly at Rabat on October 07, 2022, on the expansion of the membership of the Executive Council and the creation of an Honorary Committee.
The two proposals were submitted to the General Assembly by the Executive Council of FAAPA, chaired by Khalil Hachimi Idrissi.
The number of members of the FAAPA Executive Council was, therefore, increased to eleven, from nine.
The Honorary Committee will be composed of former Chief Executive Officers of African news agencies and eminent personalities, with the aim of defending the objectives of FAAPA and reflecting on its future.
The General Assembly also adopted an amendment to clarify the criteria for selecting candidates for FAAPA Grand Prize – a competition for member agencies – to make application easier.
The amendment will also open the Prize to other fields – culture and innovation.
The General Assembly examined training proposals for journalists and executives of member agencies, particularly in the areas of community management, artificial intelligence, commercial marketing, and editorial techniques.
Mr Albert Kofi Owusu, the General Manager, GNA, who represented the Agency at the General Assembly, in an interview, said the inclusion of Ghana on the Executive Council was in recognition of GNA’s contribution of authentic and compelling news stories to the Federation and the impact of the stories on FAAPA’s news service for Europe and the Middle East regions over the years.
FAAPA was established in 2014 on the sidelines of the 1st Forum of News Agencies of Atlantic and West Africa in Casablanca.
It offers an essential milestone for the modernisation of information and a professional platform that allows African countries to share experiences and know-how in the field of news agencies.
