HARARE - Chairpersons of African Editors’ Forums are in Zimbabwe to familiarise with the country’s media landscape as well as appreciate preparations for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

The UNWTO will be jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia in August.

The local editors’ representative body, the Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum (Zinef) extended an invitation to their counterparts, among them the chairpersons of The African Editors Forum (Taef Moumina Cheriff Sy of Burkina Faso, coordinator of the Southern African Editors Forum (Saef) Elizabeth Kalambo-M’ule (Namibia), Mpho Dibeela of Botswana who is standing in for the current chair of the Saef Jovial Rantao and Mondli Makhanya, the chairperson of South African Editors’ Forum.

Zinef chairperson Brian Mangwende said the visit was the first step towards building synergies and knowledge sharing among editors on the African continent.

“They are our partners and we need to build synergies with them,” Mangwende said. “As a new executive Zinef felt it prudent to be more active and engage with other editors outside our borders so we understand how they operate and they appreciate how we operate.”

In this familiarisation tour, the delegates are expected to meet with various media stakeholders, including the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Media Commission, Media Institute of Southern Africa (Zimbabwe Chapter) as well as tour both private and government media houses.

The delegation is also expected to meet senior government officials. - Staff Writer