African Catholic journalists are being urged to engage in positive reporting instead of focusing their stories only on conflicts and misery.
The call came from Janvier Yameogo at a workshop on the role of media in peace building, conflict resolution and good governance that ended yesterday in Mombasa, Kenya.Fr Yameogo told CRN that there are many unreported stories of success taking place in Africa.
He urged journalists to use social media to spread the good news that happen in Africa even in situations of conflict.
Fr Yameogo said it was not positive to use only starving babies and wars to speak of Africa.
He asked journalists to help Africans to build strong identities and be aware of environmental issues.
He urged other continents to respect Africans and to listen to them in order to be able to assist them.
Fr Yameogo was speaking at the sidelines of a four-day workshop attended by over 60 Catholic journalists from Africa.
The 50-year-old priest from Burkina Faso runs the Africa Desk at the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in the Vatican.