Africa as represented in the Western media: fallacies, approximations, omissions

This panel aims at raising awareness among fellow journalists (and readers) on how issues concerning the African continent are treated, urging them to spread more carefully qualified news and events.

Conflicts, child soldiers, humanitarian emergencies, epidemics, natural resource exploitation and poverty. These are the themes that bring to the fore the African continent. It is difficult, if not impossible, to find in our media news concerning development, technological innovations, cultural and scientific contributions, model democracies and a free press.

Therefore, the image of Africa that emerges is distorted, one-way and "Western", continuing to animate the collective consciousness and public opinion. Not to mention that often articles are written  in the newsroom, sometimes by those who have never been to the countries they discuss.