The 15th Universités africaines de la communication de Ouagadougou (UACO) has concluded with a set of recommendations calling for stronger journalism standards, improved media literacy and expanded professional training in emerging media technologies.
The recommendations were presented at the forum’s closing session by its executive president and reinforced by Burkina Faso’s Minister of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism, Pingdwende Gilbert Ouedraogo. Four priority areas were identified: strengthening information verification and monitoring; promoting media literacy, particularly among young people; expanding continuous professional training; and encouraging diverse content that supports conflict prevention and intercommunal dialogue.
The professional training agenda has particular relevance for broadcasters and production organisations. The recommendations identify artificial intelligence, multimedia production, digital verification, data management and cybersecurity as priority skills for ongoing development. This reflects the growing need for newsrooms and production teams to combine editorial judgement with technical expertise as media workflows become increasingly digital.
For broadcasters, these capabilities have practical implications for content verification, production efficiency, information security and the responsible use of AI tools. Continuous training could help organisations respond to changing technologies and misinformation risks, although implementation will depend on funding, institutional commitment and access to relevant expertise.
The emphasis on media literacy also points to the importance of helping audiences, especially younger people, assess information critically in an environment shaped by social media, online video and AI-generated content. Meanwhile, the call for more varied programming around conflict prevention and intercommunal dialogue places content production within a broader public-information and social-cohesion role.
At the close of the forum, Minister Ouedraogo urged stakeholders to translate the recommendations into concrete action. However, the conclusions remain a sector-wide agenda rather than an operational broadcast decision: no specific station, licence, carriage arrangement, budget or implementation timetable was announced.
For West African media organisations, the next test will be whether these priorities translate into funded training programmes, newsroom initiatives and measurable improvements in verification and production capacity.
