African Foundation for Young Media Professionals, AFYMP, has awarded a correspondent from Union of Campus Journalist, UNICROSS Press, Sylvia Akpan as Media Entrepreneur for the year 2022 NEGROIDHAVEN can say.
Sylvia Akpan is a 400 level student from the Department of Mass Communication who reports for UNICROSS press, NigeriansGrassroots as well as CrossRiverWatch.
Africa Foundation For Young Media Professionals is a media skills/career development organization based in Nigeria with projected regional and operational country offices across Africa.
The annual lecture/price giving day held at Centre for Management Development, CMD, Magodo Lagos and selected students from the following categories: Media entrepreneur, Women in journalism, Campus Journalism and Disability and Inclusion were awarded.
The award came after an annual lecture on the theme: Sustainable Democracy In Nigeria: The Role Of The Media.
The keynote speaker, Honourable resident electoral commissioner for INEC Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje, posited that “A good fundamental of a sustainable democracy is election.”
“To this end, all efforts must geared towards ensuring that elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner inorder to meet best practices and standards.
“This is a task that must be accomplished by the election management body, the media and other stakeholders in an emerging democracy like ours in order to ensure its consolidation” He added.
The convener and Executive Director of AFYMP, Mr. Olaito Yinka gave a welcome address and reiterated that the purpose of AFYMP is to elevate the media in the landscape of Africa.
“We are blessed in having people who believe in what we do. We are focusing in the next generation of young media professionals.
“There is no democracy without the influence of the media.”
Also speaking, Executive Director of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, Motunrayo Alaka, revealed that “journalism is a noble profession and it is not a profession for loosers.
“We are after a better society. Everything is not about money.
“The work takes care of you if you take care of it” she added.
She noted that the program is focused on young journalists. “Any program that is void of young people is dead on arrival”.
