Rwanda recently hosted the Fifth East Africa Media Summit that brought together over 200 media experts in the region to deliberate on the opportunities and challenges faced by journalists while covering the East African story. The New Times caught up with the Senior Public Relations Officer, Owora Othieno, for an insight on EAC’s prospects , its relationship with journalists, among other issues.  Below are excerpts.TNT: Why is EAC so keen on involving the media in its activities?Othieno: The Community regards the media in East Africa as one of the key strategic drivers of the integration process. The East African media at this critical juncture in the integration process is to get EAC closer to the people, to get the debate and discourse going on about the issues of regional co-operation and integration and, indeed, to lead the crusade for strengthening the spirit of unity and engendering an East African identity. The Community is people centred; every stakeholder has a role and has to contributesomething, so why not engage the media?TNT: What are the challenges EAC wants to address by calling on media to report the EA story?Othieno: I have already alluded to that but in short to echo what President Paul Kagame said while opening the Summit, the media has a critical role in shaping politics, economics and diplomacy of the region. Let us have what His Excellency called "home-grown” media that tells East Africa’s story with East Africa’s best interests.TNT: In your opinion, what areas of integration have journalists in East Africa ignored or given little priority?Othieno: Challenges of unemployment, environmental degradation, non-compliance or implementation of agreed policies or projects. We need to intensify engagement with the media both at the national and regional levels.TNT: How is the media going to partner with EAC without compromising its (media’) independence?Othieno: Why would the media allow to be compromised on issues of integration? I don’t see the logic.TNT: I mean, isn’t it supposed to be a "scratch my back, I scratch yours” relationship? Journalists at the summit agreed to look at East Africa more critically; is the Secretariat ready to fight for their rights once they are persecuted in any of the five patner states?Othieno: There is no need for fighting. Why fight? EAC integration is run on consensus, mutual trust and respect. Some of the fundamental principles of the Community is peaceful settlement of disputes and good governance, including adherence to the principles of democracy, the rule of law, accountability, transparency, social justice, equal opportunities, gender equality, as well as the recognition, promotion and protection of human and people’s rights in accordance with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

But then in one of the resolutions of the Kigali Media Summit, Journalists have agreed to establish the Media Apex/or Regulatory body, something they may call the East African Media Council. The Secretariat may support the initial work involved in establishing that kind of apex body.

I am sure that once we have such a body in place, together with the Partner States, we can come up with a uniform legal framework on freedom of expression and right to information and standards for the Media in East Africa. All we need is a framework and common reference point for standards of professional practice in the region; promote high journalistic standards by assisting in minimizing poor performance and undue infractions, so as to enhance public trust and confidence in the media.TNT: How do you think the ordinary EA citizen is going to benefit?Othieno: The media should bring out the tangible benefits of the integration process. It should also highlight the challenges. If we are talking about free movement of people how does it impact on a wheelbarrow pusher at Nyabugogo market? What does it mean to cross the border to pursue education or seek medical health to a peasant? That is what the media should bring to the ordinary person in a simple language.TNT: How fast is the Secretariat in availing information whenever required by journalists?Othieno: Instant though occasionally we may take a day or two to respond. However long we may take in the end to respond.TNT: Are there plans to issue out EAC media identity cards to journalists from the region? Othieno: We have not yet reached that level.TNT: At the moment, how easy is it for media services to move freely from one partner state to another?Othieno: The main issue is that there are still challenges with the free movement of media services as well as media labour in the region in the overall context of the EAC Common Market Protocol.  At the summit, the journalists present implored the Chair of the Council of Ministers, the Speaker of EALA, the Secretary General, and the Partner States to urgently work on the harmonisation of national laws in the Partner States in line with the Common Market Protocol.TNT: There are many closed sessions pertaining to important issues of the EAC. How is the Secretariat ready to satisfy the curiosity of journalists who think that these in-camera sessions deny them valuable information?Othieno: One of the key resolutions we had at the Kigali Media Summit is engaging the media at all EAC Policy Organ meetings. We intend to have Editors and senior journalists engaging with the EAC prior to or after those Policy Organ meetings. We intend to have Media breakfast or Media dinner specifically to brief  the Media on issues on the table.

TNT: How many media strengthening projects does EAC have and when did they start?Othieno: The Secretariat has about seven initiatives. First, we have Training Journalists on Reporting Regional Integration, a joint collaboration between the EAC Secretariat and the German Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). So far we have trained about 50 journalists from all the five Partner States forming a critical mass of journalists who can competently report on regional integration issues.

We have added photographers in this programme because we believe photography can play a critical role in the visual visibility of the EAC integration. We held a master class training for them in late July this year in Arusha (Tanzania).Furthermore, we have a popular programme known as media reportage missions where we facilitate journalists to cover EAC projects and programmes or key policy organ meetings throughout the region.

It could be on infrastructure, ports, Lake Victoria or environment depending on the availability of funds. The aim is to make the journalists appreciate what the Community has achieved and report from informed positions.

We have a robust web portal specifically tailored to suit the needs of journalists in that once you go to our page, you get all the necessary information one would need to tell the EAC story. Our website is an entry point to all resources from the EAC that are available online and provides links to fully-fledged standalone websites created for the Community’s various sectors, organs and key offices at the Secretariat. Additionally, the EAC Web Portal points to a variety of online applications that  include the EAC Library’s Reports database, EAC’s email  application and a database containing EAC Council decisions, etc. You can also interact with us on Facebook, twitter, and You tube.

We have sensitisation workshops being held occasionally in the Partner States specifically for journalists, we have a database for EAC press releases which are issued instantly to enable journalists beat their deadlines and of course a key initiative that is worth mentioning is providing the media with easy access to the EAC Executive Policy Organs. The Secretary General or any of the other Head of the EAC Organ and Institution are always handy to respond to media interviews. Lastly, the annual media summit which we have just held in Kigali, Rwanda.TNT: What must a journalist or media house do to be part of these projects?Othieno: Just drop me an email that you are interested in this or that and we set the ball rolling! But both the journalist and the media house must take the initiative. At times we may request for partnership in implementing some of these programmes.TNT: The EAC journalists awards were dominated by Kenyans, why is that so, or, could there have been a gap in the communication about the awards?Othieno: I don’t think so, may be they are more interested in the integration issues. May be they are very good at spotting opportunities or may be journalists from other Partner States take the EAC media award lightly. But let us wait and see what will happen in the next Media Award.TNT: When and where will the next media summit and journalists awards be held?Othieno: I don’t know yet but most likely in Bujumbura, Burundi.TNT: In your view, did the East Afrian media summit achieve its objectives?Othieno: We went overboard! To have His Excellency the President coming twice to engage with the media is unbelievable. Also we updated the Media Owners, Chief Executive Officers, Editors, prominent Media personalities, and the practitioners on the latest developments in the East African regional integration process, we generally discussed in a candid atmosphere their role in promoting the EAC agenda and the resolutions give us the way forward.