The Minister of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament and Government Spokesperson, Mr El Houssein Ould Medou, presided on Friday over the opening of the fifth congress of the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union at the Moktar Ould Daddah Convention Centre in Nouakchott, under the theme “For a free, responsible press committed to values”.
The congress aims to renew the Union’s Executive Board and amend certain provisions of its statutes amid changes in the national media landscape.
The outgoing President of the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union, Mr Ahmed Taleb Ould Maâloum, said that the current Board has followed an approach based on institutional development, dialogue and constructive engagement with different media stakeholders. This has helped reduce tensions within the media sector and defend journalists’ moral and material rights.
He explained that the Union has strengthened partnerships with regional and international media bodies, including the International Federation of Journalists, UNESCO and Al Jazeera. This has helped develop media training and conclude cooperation agreements with unions in Tunisia and Morocco, while strengthening Mauritania’s media presence and improving the Union’s performance through cooperation with various national institutions.
In his address, the Minister of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament said that holding the congress within the legally prescribed timeframe reflects a firm national commitment, led by President of the Republic Mr Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, to building a state of institutions and embedding a culture of regular institutional functioning.
He added that in recent years the ministry has supported elections and the renewal of governing bodies in several professional and cultural associations and unions, in a calm, consensual and responsible atmosphere, free from exclusion, interference or the fostering of divisions. He affirmed that this approach would continue with the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union, one of the national media sector’s leading institutions and a key partner in the reform process.
The minister outlined the main reforms in the media sector, including revising media laws, introducing the professional press card, increasing support for the press, improving conditions for public media employees, and the media city project. He said these reforms have helped Mauritania lead press freedom indicators at Arab and regional levels.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament, the President of the High Authority for the Press and Audiovisual Media, and heads of public media organisations, alongside several political figures and civil society representatives.