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Updated:
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Published Sept. 27, 2007
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Contact:
NABJ Communications
(866) 479-NABJ
NABJ President to Meet with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade on September 26
Barbara Ciara will participate in a press briefing sponsored by the NABJ World Affairs Task Force
Washington, D.C., September 25, 2007 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) President Barbara Ciara and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal will meet to discuss global issues and the role of the international press during the opening of the 62nd United Nations General Assembly on September 26.
Following the private meeting, NABJ and international journalists will convene for a press briefing with President Wade, organized by the NABJ World Affairs Task Force and hosted by the United Nations New York Office on Sport for Development and Peace.
"This is a rare and important opportunity for NABJ journalists and second term President Wade to connect face-to-face and discuss issues that sometimes fly under the radar of mainstream media, said NABJ President Barbara Ciara. We hope this meeting will serve as an entre to open the door for journalists to take a closer look at relevant issues concerning the people of Senegal."
Among topics that will be examined are: the impact of climate change, promoting inter-religious understanding, and progress towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, which include eradicating extreme poverty, combating HIV/AIDS and malaria, and achieving sustainable development.
President Wade co-chaired a United Nations session on climate change yesterday and is concerned about the impact of global warming on Senegal and other developing countries. Last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened an unprecedented meeting of development leaders to boost African efforts towards achieving the MDGs, a priority for President Wade.
The Senegalese President believes that youth must be involved in finding solutions to global problems. He hosted the first Pan African Youth Leadership Summit in 2004, which was covered by young journalists from NABJ. He addressed the first United Nations Global Youth Leadership Summit last year, and has endorsed the positive role of sport in development because of its great appeal to youth. Sport is important for building healthy lives, and is also an effective avenue for reaching youth with key messages about such issues as combating HIV/AIDS and improving the environment.
This briefing will strengthen the relationship between NABJ and the United Nations that we have forged over two decades, and we look forward to expanding opportunities for NABJ to cover international issues, said Djibril Diallo, Chair of the NABJ World Affairs Task Force and Director of the United Nations New York Office on Sport for Development and Peace. Among future events, we are planning an NABJ press trip to Senegal. I warmly thank NABJ President Barbara Ciara for her strong support for these initiatives.
The NABJ World Affairs Task Force seeks to provide NABJ members with opportunities to broaden their experience in international reporting. Working together, NABJ and the United Nations have previously offered journalism fellowships for reporting in Senegal, Brazil, Morocco and Tanzania. Through the UN-NABJ partnership, a team of student journalists from the UNITY: Journalists of Color coalition, guided by experienced UNITY journalists, provided print and online coverage of the UN Global Youth Leadership Summit in New York, with participants from nearly all the 193 UN member states.
An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation, with more than 4,100 members, and provides educational, career development and support to black journalists worldwide.
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