Do You Know Africa? An Italian Meeting for a Global Vision

Last week Europe and Africa met in Florence for the “Interdependence Days“, an event promoted by a bunch of associations (among the others Legambiente) and supported by Regione Toscana.

A two-days workshop about poverty, media, environment and cooperation with the African states. An opportunity to dig into the political, economical and social reality of Africa so unknown and misunderstanded by the old country.

Italian and African speakers have focused on the necessity to establish a new way to read the relationship between the two continents in order to fight poverty and set the basis for development. The world of information turned out to be the first responsible in this process. Too often European media present Africa only as the land of civil wars and poor-feeding, the heart of tragedies and natural disasters.

Where is the other face of Africa?

European citizens, Italians in particular, have a very poor knowledge about what Africa represents in term of human relations and ancient traditions: a crossroads of populations, cultures and dialects that enriches the heritage of the world giving us the opportunity to look at the future. Some African journalists, present at the event, tried to underline the importance of new international policies in Africa in order to protect its environment, so rich in natural resources, and restore a society exhausted by corruption and civil struggles.The Italian President of FNSI (National Federation of Journalists) attended the meeting to request more professionalism in our journalism.

All the representatives have agreed that only an Afro-European sinergy for a global governance could face the challenges of the future acting for equality and cooperation. Starting with a correct information of the African issues into the European media.

Image credit: by Jaci Barkopec in Flickr under Creative Commons

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