By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh*
Russian and African media executives at the grand opening of the International Journalists’ Forum “Russia-Africa. The Road of Friendship and Cooperation” organized by Alpha Dialogue Center, on 14th April 2025, have outlined innovative pathways to build media partnerships to counter massive disinformation and anti-Russian propaganda by western media across Africa.
Marina Bogdanova, Valeria Yadrovskaya and Elena Yadrovskaya, Directors of the Alpha Dialogue Center, addressed the participants. Multitude of questions raised in separate speeches included Russia’s media engagement with partners in Africa, how to overcome challenges and the future pathways in the context of geopolitical changes.
Alpha Dialogue has been carrying out project activities in African countries since 2021, with the first project in Tanzania. It has also undertaken serious projects in Zambia, Madagascar and Botswana. All the projects were different in content and target audience – for teachers, children and parents, but they were all aimed at strengthening cooperation between our countries.
Alpha Dialogue will hold the International Journalists Forum for African and Russian media practitioners in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, on April 22 and 23, opening new distinctive page in the work of the organization on the African continent.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Mauritius Irada Avtandilovna Zeynalova highlighted the importance of the new world architecture based on justice and equal access to truthful information, further noted the key role of journalism in the development of critical thinking among the public and shared Russia’s experience in forming an independent view of the world, calling for the joint creation of a media space free from manipulation. According to the Ambassador, at critical moments, it is a clear vision that is the main task and essence of the journalist’s profession.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Angola and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Vladimir Tararov, emphasized the timeliness and importance of the forum in developing information cooperation between Russia and Africa, especially noting the growing interest of African media in Russian journalism as a source of truthful information as opposed to Western fakes. The Ambassador pointed out the need to expand communication channels and the network of correspondent offices of Russian agencies in Africa, as well as the importance of taking into account regional linguistic specifics and targeted work with each state to create unique information products.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire Alexey Saltykov underlined the successful cooperation of Russian news agencies with African journalists in the framework of recent major events, and also pointed out the importance of strong and independent media for the sovereignty of states. The fight against fakes and the need to improve the quality and reliability of information are important tasks facing modern journalists.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the State of Libya, Aidar Aganin, noted that working as a journalist is always a challenge, it is work that is often associated with risk. Education of journalists in Russia and Africa, cooperation in the field of media are important. It is through joint work, the Ambassador emphasized, that we can achieve an improvement in the quality of information. Holding the Forum will be another step in establishing ties between journalists of Russia and the countries of the African continent.
Louis Gouend, President of the African Business Club, Chairman of the Commission for Work with African Diasporas and Public Relations of the Russian-African Club of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov presented the RusAfroMedia project to the participants. The RusAfroMedia Information and Communication Platform is purposely designed to unite Russian and African journalists, provide opportunities for the exchange of reliable information and to engage in joint work on Russian-African direction.
Louis Gouend emphasized the importance of open dialogue, invited everyone to cooperate and expressed confidence that platforms like RusAfroMedia can become the most important tool in strengthening friendship and partnership between Russia and African countries.
As part of the opening of the project, a teleconference “Road of Friendship and Cooperation” was held, in which journalists from Russia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Cameroon and other countries took part. Professor Julien from the Kenya Media Institute emphasized that cooperation between Russia and Africa is especially relevant today. He expressed his readiness to participate in this work, in particular in Kenya, and emphasized the need to expand the presence of Russian television and radio stations in Africa to counter colonial propaganda.
He noted that the Soviet Union provided Africans with training opportunities in various fields, such as medicine, engineering, journalism, oil and gas exploration, which contributed to their liberation from colonial dependence. The professor called for more active coverage of this positive story and other important information in the African media, especially in countries that were previously under colonial rule.
The international forum “Russia – Africa. The Road of Friendship and Cooperation” is open! Ahead are online lectures and the in-person stage of the project on April 22-23 in Addis Ababa. The forum is implemented with the support of the A.M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund. Information about the forum, webinars, in-person and remote participation: alfa-dialog.ru/forum/ru
*Kester Kenn Klomegah is an independent researcher and a policy consultant on African affairs in the Russian Federation and Eurasian Union. He has won media awards for highlighting economic diplomacy in the region with Africa. Currently, Klomegah is a Special Representative for Africa on the Board of the Russian Trade and Economic Development Council. He enjoys travelling and visiting historical places in Eastern and Central Europe.
