Press and comm professionals in the Central Africa meet in Douala

The Union of professionals in press and communication in Central Africa met in Douala 6 and August 7, 2014 at the hotel Somatel for a seminar under the theme: "the future of journalists and the media in question: Issues, Challenges, and Perspective”.

Representatives from Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, DR Congo, and Chad were present at the conference. It is regrettable that despite the multiplication and the proliferation of the media, it remains constant in all countries of the sub-region that: Access to information sources remains difficult; Journalists continue to be targeted by political authorities in peacetime.

The digital divide remains huge; the situation of employees in private-owned media remains very precarious, which does not promote a credible press, and collective conventions are not implemented in the various signatory countries.

In the light of what precedes, the representatives of the different countries present at the workshop in Douala took the following measures: The establishment by States of real press enterprises economically viable and independent, the application immediately and without condition of collective agreements in the countries where they exist; and the beginning of negotiations where they do not exist.

The application of the laws on access to information in countries where they exist and their adoption in the countries where they do not exist; the human resources management in newspaper companies must take account of the gender approach, the express inclusion in the Act the finances of grants and other aid to be allocated to the press and the actual disbursement of these endowments for the benefit of the press, the equitable distribution of public advertising between the publicly owned media and the private capital by the nominators.

And finally, Complete tools for the promotion of healthy regulatory bodies and media development.