A special session of the SputnikPro project for young journalists from African countries opened at the headquarters of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency and Radio Sputnik Moscow.
The 15 participants include TV and radio hosts as well as correspondents and producers of Africa’s biggest media holdings such as Independent Media, with the Cape Times multimedia reporter Okuhle Hlati in attendance, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, News Agency of Nigeria, Zambia Daily Mail, Namibia Broadcasting Corporation, Ethiopian News Agency, Radio Sabra FM in Tunisia and Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), among others.
“This is SputnikPro’s first specialised face-to-face session for journalists from Africa since the end of the pandemic,” said Sputnik director for international co-operation, Vasily Pushkov.
“It is a pleasure to note that it is being attended by the biggest African media outlets with audiences in the millions.
“In this way we are restoring fullfledged, direct dialogue between Russia and African nations.”
Emmanuella Kernyuy Wvemnyay, a CRTV correspondent and news anchor said: “Today was the start of the lectures on how to produce and promote content.
“The workshop on how to make a video simple, concise and viral at the same time was useful.
“I am thrilled to see all this in Moscow.
“It’s a stunningly beautiful city.” Christine Chihame from Zambia said she was happy to attend the experience-sharing programme.
“As a Zambia Daily Mail correspondent, I also publish photo reports.
“So I’m primarily looking forward to the workshop on photojournalism.
“I would be interested in learning how my colleagues from the Sputnik news agency work,” Chihame said.
“Print media are now in crisis all over the world, so we are looking for a new way of doing things,” said Gifty
Mamley Agyemang, a correspondent of The Insight Newspaper in Ghana.
“It is important to understand how to attract an audience and make a financially viable media outlet.
“This is why I am interested in getting an inside look at how the Sputnik news agency works.”
The participants will spend a busy week attending lectures and workshops from Sputnik’s leading media experts, getting to know colleagues from different countries and taking part in Moscow’s cultural life.
Sputnik’s face-to-face module for journalists from African countries is supported by the New Generation programme of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Co-operation (Rossotrudnichestvo).
SputnikPro is a project of the international news agency and Radio Sputnik for journalists, students from journalism programmes, press service workers and media managers, designed to share experience and develop professional ties with foreign colleagues.
Sputnik media managers and other famous Russian experts host the project’s modules.
Over 5 000 listeners from more than 80 states have taken part in SputnikPro’s workshops since March 2018.
Sputnik international news agency and radio is part of the Russian media group Rossiya Segodnya.
Sputnik unites websites in 32 languages, analogue and digital radio broadcasting in over 90 cities of the world and news wires in English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese and Farsi.
Cape Times