Tell good stories about Africa, journalists told

Journalists and media entities have been urged to tell stories that project Africa as a good continent as opposed to negative reporting about the bloc.

While speaking at a capacity building training for stakeholders in the media fraternity on philanthropy reporting under the Philanthropy for Development Programme on Thursday in Kampala, CivSource Africa Chief Executive Officer Jackie Asiimwe said lots of good developments are happening in Africa, but not given enough attention by the media.

“There are many stereotypes around Africans. That we are not intelligent enough, all we do is fight and kill each other, and these stereotypes are partly driven by our media. That is wrong!” said Asiimwe.

“Another stereotype is that Africans are poor and they are the recipients of aid and yet we also know that we give to our own issues, our own communities. We are part of the engines driving change. To only tell the aid story is to tell one story and to stereotype Africa as always poor and always at the receiving end,” she added

She asked the media to document the generosity that happens in Africa and investing time, talent and money in telling an African story explaining that doing the contrary rubberstamps development and history.

“As journalists and story tellers, we can do much in painting a different story because a single story has been sold about Africa and yet there are multiple stories and one of the stories is a story of generous story. We know that Africans have built schools. Don’t we say that education changes lives? Africans build schools and hospitals, give scholarships, treat diseases, and we are part of our own development. Let’s make our giving more impactful,” she argued

Chris Nkwatsibwe, the team leader for policy governance and civic engagement at Uganda NGO Forum implored the media to use their profession to spotlight and harness the potential of philanthropy.

The Philanthropy for Development Programme seeks to transform how development is done, by focusing specifically on the recognition and importance of domestic resources in increasing local ownership, unlocking agency and strengthening communities' ability to claim entitlements from different actors, especially government.