The following is the impassioned address delivered by the CEO of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Ms Agnes Nguga, at the Global South Media Partners Mechanism conference held in Xi’an, China, this week:
“For centuries, the story of our world had missing chapters. Our chapters. The story of the Global South was narrated by voices that were not our own. Well, that era… ends today.
We are no longer whispering from the shadows. We are no longer asking for a seat at a fire built by others. We have come to light our own fire!
And from this flame, we launch the Global South Media Partners—not just a mechanism, but our megaphone to the world!
The world sees our struggles in headlines… but they are blind to our solutions. They see poverty in statistics… but they miss the revolution in our alleyways! They tell a single story of despair… while a million stories of hope scream to be told!
And we are the voices they will hear!
So how do we make this fire a beacon? We will be three things: Poets, Engineers, and Gardeners.
First—We will be POETS of a new story!
The old way was sharing finished books. The new way? We write the book together! That’s why our first act is a flagship co-production: “The Architects of Tomorrow.” We will follow the brilliant young minds in Nairobi, in Beijing, in Rio—not as subjects, but as heroes, solving the world’s greatest puzzles. This is how we pool our strength!
Second—We will be ENGINEERS of a new system!
We will build the “Global South Wire”—a digital nervous system, powered by innovation, where a breakthrough in Ghana can ignite a newsroom in Jakarta in real-time! We are not just building a platform… we are building a highway for our truth!
And third—We will be GARDENERS of a new generation!
The “Global South Media Academy” will cross-pollinate our best minds! A journalist from Kenya will master AI in China. A producer from China will learn community storytelling in Nigeria. We are investing in the human capital that will make our fire eternal!
This is more than media. This is UBUNTU! “I am, because we are.” My narrative is bound to yours. My success is your success. This is the very soul of a “Community with a Shared Future for Mankind”—a future where truth has many accents, and every voice finds its frequency.
To our partners at China Media Group—you saw our vision. You didn’t just offer us a seat; you helped us gather the wood. For that, from the heart of Africa, Asante Sana.
So I stand before you—a CEO, a daughter of Africa—and I see that fire burning. It is bright. It is hungry. It is unstoppable.
Let us be the guardians of this flame. Let us promise the next generation that their stories will not be lost… their dreams will not be misunderstood. Together… let us illuminate the world!
Thank you!”
