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First Database
of Press Releases Relating to Africa Launched
In a bid to improve the circulation of press releases relating to Africa
among journalists, Panafrican Press Association (APPA) recently launched
a database named “APPA-SOURCE- The African News Source”. It is the first
ever data-base of press releases available to journalists writing on
African issues.
Explaining the function of the database, President of the Panafrican
Press Association (APPA) Mr. Louis Keumayou said: “Through Internet site
APPA-SOURCE, the Panafrican Press Association (APPA) offers from now on
to all the journalists a free access to the first database of press
releases relating to Africa”.
The Special Adviser to the President of the APPA, Mr. Nicolas
Pompigne-Mognard, who is responsible for the development of this new
service, said that APPA-SOURCE was going quickly to constitute a
database without equivalent, gathering thousands of press releases
related to Africa.
Mr. Pompigne-Mognard affirmed that the APPA-SOURCE integrates right now
more than 600 press releases and that the new service has vocation to
become an invaluable working tool for the African journalists, as it
does for the journalists charged with Africa in the Western media.
He stated further that: “APPA-SOURCE integrates in particular a browser
making it possible to select the press releases by key words, by
institution, or by date, as well as a diary of the events to come”. He
added that APPA-SOURCE has RSS feed accessible free from the following
web address:
http://appablog.wordpress.com/feed/.
“The launching of APPA-SOURCE marks a new stage in the engagement of the
Panafrican Press Association in favor of the communication for the
development and of the promotion of the good governance”, Nicolas
enthused while also estimating that this new service, whose launching
support on a file of more than 6.000 contacts, will make it possible to
reinforce considerably the contribution of the APPA in the strategy of
communication of many institutions related to Africa, and in particular
the Commission of the African Union, the Group of the African
Development Bank, the Group of the ACP States, the World Bank, the
International Monetary Funds, the European Commission, the US State
Department, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the various
agencies of the United Nations.
The services are managed by the Panafrican Press Association (APPA),
based on a file of more than 6,000 contacts, including: The general
mailing list consisting of more than 2,700 subscribers; APPA-SOURCE -
The African News Source the Online database of press releases related to
Africa; APPA-ECO - The African Economic News, a Mailing list devoted to
the press releases of the companies related to Africa; The Public
Relations consisting of approximately 50 press events organized in 2006;
Including the mediatization of the last working visit to France of the
President of the African Bank of Development; APPA-WEBCAST, the Virtual
Cover media of an event being held in another part of the World, and
videoconferences of press; The media Cover of international events, the
diffusion of information into free of rights near the journalists not
having been able to make displacement; and The Partnerships, the APPA
guaranteed the mediatization of approximately 25 events in 2006, of
which the Forum Africa Avenir in partnership with the French MAE.
Apparently happy over the success of the APPA-SOURCE, Nicholas disclosed
that this offer is in perfect coherence with the missions of the
Panafrican Press Association, adding that it will be supplemented during
the first quarter of 2008 by two (2) new free services intended for the
African journalists.
The APPA distributed more than 5,200 official statements during the year
2006. Its annual forecasts for 2007 are maintained around 8.000 press
releases, which corresponds to a growth of 60%.
Taking into account the regular increase in the number of subscribers to
the general mailing list of the APPA, the total number of “messages
addressed” by the Panafrican Press Association should reach 22 millions
in 2007.
The missions of APPA-SOURCE are to
take part in the promotion of the image of the African continent near
the Western media ; contribute actively to the strategy of communication
of the African and Panafrican institutions ; act in favour of the
communication for the development and the promotion of the good
goverance ; assist the African official delegations in the mediatization
of their visits abroad ; and answer the requests of the Western media
and the international institutions related to Africa
To access “APPA-SOURCE- The African News Source”, log on to :
http://appablog.wordpress.com.
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