The African Union Media Fellows’ visit to Brussels brings the AU and EU closer together

The African Union Media Fellowship Programme (AUMF) is in Brussels to tour the EU institutions. The group of content creators and journalists arrived on Sunday June 10 and spent the week visiting EU institutions and learning about the different policies and programmes vis-à-vis Africa and the media.

The AU flagship – AUMF- is entering its second year. At this occasion, twenty journalists and content creators have been selected out of hundreds to join the programme. The fellows coming from different Member States of the African Union have very diverse backgrounds. The AUMF encourages ethical journalism and facilitates collaboration among media experts for cross-border coverage, while engaging with policymakers. It supports innovative media outputs, in alignment with the African Union Agenda 2063 objectives.

Within the scope of the programme, the fellows visited Brussels to gain a deeper insight into EU’s mandate and functioning  as well as the AU-EU partnership. This visit is a joint effort of both organisations  to enhance the fellows’ understanding of the European Union (EU) media practices and policies. It aims at fostering stronger ties and a greater understanding of the foreign policy cooperation between the two unions and the two continents respective media landscapes.

During the week, the fellows met with EEAS, INTPA and ECHO representatives to discuss the work of the EU and EU’s relations with African countries, as well as the AU. The fellows took part in seminars, workshops, simulations of high-level policy negotiations and interactive visits of the institutions. They also got access to an exclusive exchange with the spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The interactions between the fellows and the EU representatives equally enabled the various EU services to better understand the challenges faced by the journalists in the different parts of Africa and the complex environment in which they work. It has been a unique and valuable opportunity to exchange best practices with them on issues such as: How to obtain relevant information on various issues? How to succeed in reaching a young audience? How to be heard when foreign actors interfere in national affairs and in the information environement?

At the end of the programme, the fellows will have gathered extensive media related networks as well as connections with policy makers in different organisations worldwide.

The EU-AU partnership is a multi-actor partnership guided by the EU and African Union (AU) Member States along with several non-state and civil society organisations, youth bodies, economic and social actors, and the private sector. The renewed partnership builds on an ongoing dialogue with the EU’s African partners. At the 6th EU-AU Summit in Brussels in February 2022, the partners adopted a “Joint Vision for 2030”.