SHARE:
The Congolese Press-Agency goes on ahead of the gender promotion
At Congolese Press-Agency (ACP), there are 37 women and 15 men. The same situation of having more women than men in the media house transcends through most departments. Efforts are made to extend the same tendencies in other services particularly in sports, economics and political reporting. The Congolese Press-Agency (ACP) is a nursery for Congolese media. Indeed, its vocation is to supply news to other media, as well as Newspapers and audio-visual. But apart from news, ACP has given a fairly large number of journalists, men and women, to the private growing sector of Newspapers since 1990.
The Congolese Press-Agency worked in an unselfish way before discovering the Gender Links objectives and activities through Union Congolaise des Femmes des Medias (UCOFEM), in Kinshasa, in 2008. News was handled without taking sides. There were no women in decision-making positions. During the same year, Christine Nyembo Feza became the first woman to be elected to the board of directors, the highest organ in the daily management of the institution. She was designated as the technical director administrator. She had the mission of managing the editorial content.
Nyembo’s presence coincided with the arrival of Gender Links in the DRC. It permitted ACP to dedicate itself to the new process of awaking to the consciousness of gender mainstreaming. As they say: “never one without two”. The arrival of the first woman influenced the appointment of another woman two years later, this time at the administrative council of the organisation.
The media house has a gender and human rights desk. This desk was given the task of dealing with gender and human rights questions, in order to counter balance the contents of news wires.
Gender mainstreaming began taking place not only in the treatment of news but also in personnel management. Men and women journalists are working for the gender and human rights desk.For the first time, the human resources department, led by Lucie Bokeme Kinzuinga, has initiated a quota system in personnel hired. There are now more women in the institution
In 2009, when Gender Links started the gender elections and the media project in media of the SADC area, the Congolese Press Agency was the first firm to come on board politically. High-level people in the institution were involved in this process. At the Congolese Press-Agency (ACP), there are 37 women and 15 men. The same situation of having more women than men in the media house transcends through most departments. Efforts are made to extend the same trends to other services particularly sports, economics and political reporting.
At the Congolese Press Agency, there is an association of women who work there. Management works with this structure when they have to deal with women-specific questions. Through this structure, the institution has done a great deal to report on gender specific topics and sensitise the public.
Comment on ACP Institutional profile