He told the about 400 delegates at the conference under theme: "African voices - In the Global Space" that African journalists and academics needed to have a sense of history in their judgment of Africa and its leaders. "We need to appreciate where we are coming from and how far we have reached to enable us to make well-informed conclusions as to what is happening on the continent," former President Kufuor said.

He said there was the need to create an African media and not a media for Africa. "We need to create a media that makes Africa's voice heard loud and clear on the world stage. This we can do by highlighting the strengths of the continent and not by repeating the negative stereotypes all the time."

"We must by all means talk about the wrong things that happen on the continent. Where there is corruption or bad governance we need to expose them, but it is important that we highlight success stories with equal and even greater emphasis. "

Former President Kufuor said Africans are making great strides in trying to put things right. There is the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the African Peer Review Mechanism, the various regional blocs such as ECOWAS, the re-launched East African Economic Community, the Southern Africa Development Cooperation and many more.