Leaders of regional and national media organisations in Africa Tuesday began a two-day conference in Accra to discuss strategies to shape the media industry in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has dealt a terrible blow to jobs and media sustainability.

Under the auspices of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the conference will also examine the worrisome erosion of media freedom in many countries in Africa and propose practical measures to reverse the trend.

Mr Affail Monney, a Member of the Steering Committee of the FAJ, in a press release, said: “The general precarious working conditions of journalists will receive priority attention. To this end, the conference will explore viable options to strengthen the bargaining capacity of journalist unions in Africa,” he added.

He said the conference was expected to come out with an Accra Declaration, which would articulate the future direction of journalism in Africa.

The President of FAJ, El- Sadig Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim, and a representative of the African Union, Ambassador Ahmed Salah are already in Accra for the conference.