New US association for African journalists

Aug 12, 2004

African journalists working in the United States of America (USA) established a national association on August 7 to campaign for better right and exposure for African media in the Americas.

The National Association of African Journalists (NAAJ) was inaugurated at Howard University in the US capital, Washington D.C., by journalists from Cameroon, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The new association seeks to assist African journalists working in the US with training and professional support, as well as lobby on their behalf for better access to information and facilities.

NAAJ said in a statement afterwards that it would also lobby for increased use by US media of African commentators and experts, and for increased reliance on African news reporting on issues relating to the continent.

NAAJ will, in addition, begin fund-raising for a journalism scholarship programme to support young or aspiring African reporters without local access to specialist education.

District of Columbia Mayor, Anthony Williams, delivered the keynote address at the inauguration, which was featured on Voice-of-America's Straight Talk Africa programme

Anyone interested in contacting NAAJ can reach facilitator Kole Ade Odutola on telephone (+1-816) 234-7815 via email on either This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .