Rewriting the story together

Tech expands reach

Beyond policy discussions, the forum gave delegates a close look at the technologies increasingly shaping media production. They visited the 8K facilities of Beijing Radio & Television Station (BRTV) and the 33rd Beijing International Radio, TV & Film Exhibition (BIRTV 2026). The forum also featured three themed exhibition areas presenting China-Africa media cooperation, audiovisual innovation and cultural exchanges.

Displays included digital content management systems and a mobile production vehicle using 5G, AI and cloud tools.

Marie-Louise Diallo, deputy director-general of Guinea's national daily Horoya, said she was highly impressed by BRTV's technical capabilities, particularly the image quality offered by its 4K and 8K systems.

She also noted that Guinean journalists were participating in a training program in Beijing.

Infrastructure cooperation is also extending beyond broadcasting. Bah cited a project in Sierra Leone where, in July 2025, he led the signing in Beijing of a $5 million memorandum of understanding with China's Diming Yimo (Tianjin) Printing Co Ltd to modernize Sierra Leone's Government Printing Department, provide equipment and training, and support a national printing training institute.

Some displays also showed how technology could address another challenge raised repeatedly at the forum: language.

At a display by Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, an AI function translated speech and written messages in real time. An interactive map generated a postcard for a selected African country.

Speaking during a visit to BIRTV 2026, Jean Maurice Uwera, deputy spokesperson for the government of Rwanda, identified language as a practical obstacle to the wider circulation of audiovisual content.

"Chinese culture is quite rich, but there is always that barrier of language," he said, adding that dubbing and subtitles could help productions reach audiences who might otherwise be unable to engage with them.

As AI plays a larger role in media production and distribution, the issue also extends to which languages such systems can recognize. Bah said African languages should be included in AI models and African partners should participate in developing them. Such cooperation, he said, could improve translation and digital tools for the communities whose stories they carry.

Bah noted the exchange should also work both ways, with African stories reaching Chinese audiences just as Chinese stories reach Africa. Joint reporting and content creation, he added, could introduce audiences to everyday life, entrepreneurship, history, culture and the experiences of young people.

The forum released a joint declaration and announced 80 achievements in China-Africa cooperation in areas including production and exchange, professional development and media technology. According to the organizers, the declaration advocates sustained news cooperation, joint productions, program translation and mutual broadcasting, AI application and governance, and youth exchanges.

For Ceesay, the purpose of such cooperation ultimately comes back to how people understand one another.

The objective, he said, should be to "tell our story, tell the African story, tell the Chinese story" in a way that enables people to understand one another's challenges, aspirations and history.