Africa media leaders forum: Statement By Carlos Lopes UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA

Abstract

The Africa Media Leaders Forum 2013 meeting winds to a close, to discuss the conditions for a conducive media environment in the continent. I am sure that over the past two days, the fruitful discussions you had will contribute to enriching Africa’s media landscape. Honest assessment, as you well know, dictates that we must be aware of “The Danger of a Single Story” which the bright young Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie, explained with her characteristic straight talk:: “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.