NIGERIA: SIGNIS Africa Recommends formation of distinct SIGNIS Structures in Member Countries
Participants of the SIGNIS Africa Stategic Management Meeting held in Abuja Nigeria
SIGNIS Africa, which AMECEA is part of has recommended the formation of distinct structures of SIGNIS at national levels under the directorate of Communication. The recommendation was made during the SIGNIS Africa Strategic Management Meeting of the Executive Delegates currently going on in Abuja Nigeria where AMECEA is participating.
giving his speech during the Strategic Management Meeting
The President of SIGNIS Africa Rev. Fr. Walter Ihejirika, PhD, said that currently about 20 African countries are in good standing with SIGNIS despite the fact that the participation of African Countries at SIGNIS World Congress remains relatively low.
“There should be clear membership of SIGNIS in each country and we are going to take it upon ourselves to ensure that between now and end of 2019, the prospect is realized,” he said. Currently only Nigeria and DRC Congo have clear structures for SIGNIS.
at Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria
The strategic management meeting which began on 27th June and ends on 30th June is focusing on reviewing the SIGNIS Africa Constitution in line with SIGNIS World Statutes. At the same time, the meeting is providing a forum for brainstorming ideas on how to improve the participation of Africa in SIGNIS World Congress through production and attendance.
Meanwhile Rt. Rev. Denis Isizoh, the Episcopal Chairman of Communication Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria who officially opened the meeting urged Catholic Communicators in Africa to promote balanced news reporting.
“We are the first people to report about ourselves therefore let us have a balance report. Breaking news is wonderful and with the emergence of new technologies such as mobile phones, fake news is real and spreads very fast. It is therefore important for Catholic journalists to do in-depth analysis of the report before presenting it to the public,” Bishop Isizoh who is the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Onitsha, said.
Echoing the sentiments of the Holy Father Pope Francis about the need of being aware of fake news, Bishop Isizoh challenged African Catholic journalists to transmit values in their stories and know how to package their stories well and present messages of hope rather than being part of the bandwagon of journalists whose main aim is to present news that propagates hopelessness.
~End~
Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
