Maseru Declaration - 2nd Regional Media Dialogue

We participants of the second Africa Regional Media Dialogue meeting in Maseru, Lesotho, to discuss the role of the media in Africa’s development;

Conscious of the need to accelerate the implementation of the recommendations agreed at the First Regional Media Dialogue in The Vaal, South Africa in February 2009;

Recalling the 14th Ordinary Session of the AU Summit decision integrating the NEPAD into the structures and processes of the AU and establishing the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency;

Recognising that NEPAD is now fully integrated into AU processes Recognizing the role the African media have continued to play in keeping NEPAD in the public sphere;

Desirous to see the media play a more prominent role in the integration and development of Africa;

Hereby agree to:

1. Define and develop a continent-wide framework for structuredengagement with the media and the deepening of their involvement ininforming about AU and NEPAD related programmes;
2. Improve messaging and packaging and provide more regulardissemination of information to the media on successes and challenges in implementing AU/NEPAD programmes;
3. Deepen knowledge about AU/ NEPAD programmes among Africanjournalists/editors to facilitate media coverage of African initiatives and programmes;
4. Ensure civil society organizations, women and youth own the NEPADvision and programme;
5. Adapt creative strategies for using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and social media to improve the outreach to the public and also engage the youth about the African development agenda;
6. Reinforce training for community media and media professionals as well as at the level of journalism training institutions;
7. Develop capacity to monitor and evaluate media coverage of AU/NEPAD initiatives and programmes;
8. Urge the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to consider adopting media freedom and pluralism as one of its evaluation criteria.

We participants agree that these goals set out in this declaration and the recommendations we adopted be implemented within the next two years with a midterm review.

Adopted in Maseru, the Kingdom Of Lesotho
9 June 2011.