During the closing ceremony, chaired by Khalil Hachimi Idrissi, President of FAAPA and Director General of the Moroccan News Agency (MAP), the members of the Executive Council discussed and adopted the Action Plan of the Federation for 2022.
On this occasion, they examined and approved the final report of the 5th General Assembly of FAAPA, held in November 2019 in Rabat, and which will be submitted for final adoption at the next General Assembly, scheduled in May, 2022.
FAAPA's 20221 Action Plan includes the organization of the General Assembly of Directors General of African News Agencies, the organization of a seminar on the theme "Women's Leadership" and another on "Artificial Intelligence".
The Council members also discussed aspects related to the training and qualification of the human resources of the Member Agencies, as well as the contribution of the Member Agencies to the FAAPA website.
In the field of training, they agreed to organize a training seminar on sports journalism before the next general assembly.
The Federation's action plan also includes the organization of a training seminar on photojournalism, the 2nd forum of news directors of African news agencies, and the 2nd symposium of IT managers of African news agencies, as well as the 2nd meeting of women leaders of FAAPA member agencies.
Regarding multimedia, the action plan includes the redesign of the "faapa.info" website and the women leaders website "NWL-FAAPA".
The participants in the meeting also reviewed the contribution of each African news agency to the federation's website and called on the Federation Members to further contribute to the website.
The Dakar meeting also discussed the participation of African news agencies in the 7th News Agencies World Congress (NAWC), which will take place in Marrakech in November 2022.
The members of the Executive Council also discussed the applications received by the Federation for the 2021 FAAPA Grand Prize and awarded the best article and the best video to the Côte d'Ivoire News Agency (AIP). The prize for the best photo went to the Guinean Press Agency "AGP".
At the end of this meeting, the members of the FAAPA Executive Council decided to award the Beninese Press Agency (ABP), currently threatened with dissolution, an honorary prize in solidarity and recognition of the work it has done for over 60 years in the service of Benin and its professional involvement, as a founding member, within the Pan-African federation.
In a statement to the press, the President of FAAPA welcomed the holding of this 8th meeting and expressed his deep appreciation for the Senegalese News Agency (APS) and the efforts made by its Director-General Thierno Birahim Fall, and the entire team to ensure the success of this meeting.
Hachimi Idrissi also reiterated FAAPA's support to the Beninese News Agency to continue to operate, adding that the federation, as a network of African news agencies, will do its utmost to ensure its continuity.
FAAPA, which currently includes about 20 African news agencies, serves as a professional platform to promote the exchange of experiences and multimedia information and products.
Created on October 14, 2014, the Federation's objectives are to establish a strategic partnership and develop professional relations between news agencies. It also aims to contribute to the consolidation of the free flow of information and strengthen cooperation and coordination in regional and international fora.