Grégoire Ndjaka graduated from the Yaoundé School of Journalism in 1988. He then continued his studies in France and Quebec, in Montreal. Upon returning to Cameroon, he worked for two years at the Ministry of Communication before being recruited by CRTV, where he held several positions: Director of Radio Programs, Head of Programming, Deputy Director of Cooperation, Special Advisor to the Director General, and Director of Human Resources. For the past three years, Grégoire Ndjaka has been the Director General of the African Broadcasting Union.
How are you organized within the AUB?
The URTNA is the predecessor of the AUB, the African Union of National Radio and Television Organizations. It is an organization created at the dawn of independence to enable governments to manage and federate their interests in the audiovisual field. This organization operated for many years but also experienced a number of financial difficulties. In 2006, URTNA filed for bankruptcy and then became the AUB we know today. We deal with everything related to the media: training journalists, exchanging audiovisual programs, negotiating sports rights, and all other issues related to today's media, such as digitization and cooperation between media outlets, but also between other broadcasting unions around the world. We are also welcoming more and more members from the private sector.
The launch of the "AUB Safari Show" is planned for a later date. What is it about?
The African Broadcasting Union will soon launch the "AUB Safari Show," a pan-African and international music competition. The AUB Safari Show aims to promote African culture, a rich culture that brings together several "Africas." This event also aims to encourage our members to work together on a project. This will foster relationships between all these members in order to create potential synergies, bridges between professionals, and the production of quality content that we can offer to our television channels and to which all these channels will have contributed. This event is part of a co-creation approach.
Do you plan to go further in the co-creation of content beyond entertainment? Do you have other projects on a larger scale than the "AUB Safari Show" event?
Beyond the "AUB Safari Show," we have also set up a project which, although still in its infancy, aims to create a network for the exchange of programs between our national television channels. This network will be inaugurated shortly in Marrakech on March 20 during our next General Assembly. We have already trained the hosts of this network across member countries. It is a promotional network that will enable the African continent to tell its story, strengthen ties between members, and provide the world with authentic African information that takes local realities into account and, ultimately, advocates for Africa. Today, when we talk about Africa, we talk about war, dictatorship, or famine, but in Africa, there are also men and women who work, countries that are developing and integrating into the global "family." Today, within the network we are developing, we are seeing real enthusiasm from television channels that want to provide the public with information and content that tells our own story.
The UAR has also set up a production fund that allows our members to obtain micro-financing to support the development of local production. This production fund is not only about financing but also training: selected project leaders will receive both financial support and training from UAR experts to help them produce quality content that will feed into our program exchange network.
RTI in Côte d'Ivoire has announced its intention to organize a conference on fake news in the near future. What is your position on the fight against fake news?
As representatives of the UAR, we ask the media to adhere to the fundamentals of our profession, and our profession requires us to verify information before disseminating it. The issue of fake news is of great concern to us. That is why, during our next General Assembly to be held in Morocco, a day will be devoted to the issue of fake news, given the importance of the subject. Our marketing department has also set up a training program for journalists on the issue of fake news, but we are still awaiting funding for its implementation. This is a fundamental issue, given that opinions in Africa are very fragile. We are therefore taking a stand against the proliferation of fake news, as we believe it must be combated in order to curb the phenomenon.
You are organizing the next UAR General Assembly
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which will be held in Morocco. Can you tell us more about it?
After addressing issues of content, techniques, and technologies in previous editions, we will now focus on topics that hinder the functioning of the media. This General Assembly will be held in Morocco from March 25 to 29, 2019. The event will also feature a forum on convergence issues with audiovisual sector regulators and their contribution to the vast digitization project that is increasingly gaining ground in Africa. We will also have two presentations: one on issues related to copyright and intellectual property, and another on sports and sports rights.