Senegal established a National Media Observatory on Thursday, a body designed to strengthen oversight of the media landscape and improve the reliability of information disseminated.
The launch was announced by Mamadou Moustapha Diouf from the Ministry of Communication during the official ceremony.
He stated that the observatory will help enhance the integration of information and support the media sector in its ongoing transformations.
The launch took place ahead of the regional conference on information integrity in West Africa and the Sahel, scheduled from September 3 to 5 in Praia, Cape Verde, under the auspices of UNESCO.
Discourses at the conference will focus on access to information, platform governance, media literacy, and coordination among regional structures, explained Katharina Lobeck, project manager for “Strengthening Information Reliability in West Africa” at GIZ, the German Agency for International Cooperation in Sustainable Development.
Moustapha Diouf also reiterated the commitment of the new authorities to support and regulate the media sector. In this context, the ministry plans to expand the scope of the Audiovisual Production Support and Development Fund (FADP), previously limited to audiovisual media, to include print, online press, and content creators.
“The goal is to raise the level of output across all media in Senegal,” he emphasised.
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