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The Sunday Mail
Richard Mahomva
It has been a whirlwind three weeks of limelight for Zimbabwe on the stage of global internet diplomacy.
A cascade of invitations landed on the desk of His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.
The President of the Republic despatched Honourable Monica Mutsvangwa, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, to represent Zimbabwe and his Government on three fora of global information diplomacy.
The first port of call was Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The minister was accompanied by professionals in the media sector from both public and private media houses.
The small nation, which originally built its economy on oil and gas, is looking at enduring prosperity through re-inventing itself.
Its hydrocarbons resources are depleting.
To compound a gathering threat, the COP27 agenda on global climate warming has put fossil fuels in the gun sights.
Abu Dhabi is seeking to re-invent itself.
It has targeted the exciting and enduring services industries of international finance, trade and digital information as it charts a new future.
The maiden Global Media Congress was inaugurated in Abu Dhabi.
It brought together 2 000 delegates of leading global media players, government information gurus and regulators, including the academia.
The theme was “Shaping the Future of the Media Industry”.
Accompanying the holistic discussion was an impressive display of the leading-edge technologies that are delivering information in the emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Zimbabwe’s invitation did not disappoint.
Minister Monica Mutsvangwa’s speech took the delegates by storm.
It easily and readily became the talking point of deliberations.
Such was the impact that Al Quassim Jassin, UAE ambassador, was instructed by his Head of State to deliver a message of appreciation on the presence and performance of Zimbabwe.
Minister Mutsvangwa rushed home to another important media event.
This time it was the EU Ambassador Jobst von Kirchmann.
The important trading bloc is flipping over to a new and exciting relationship with Zimbabwe.
He launched a media initiative: “Zimbabwe and the European Union, Together, Tomorrow, Today.”
Minister Mutsvangwa gave a well-received address to dignitaries and prominent celebrities. It gave lift to the tectonic shift in relations with Brussels.
Thereafter, the minister dashed off to Goa, India.
She was guest at the 53rd International Film Festival of India.
The crème de la crème of Bollywood as well as other international film industry players were mingling with actors, producers and film funders.
The aim being to link the world through the beguiling medium of film; more so, in the digital era of converging media platforms.
The final leg was the United Nations Internet Governance Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Forum broached issues to do with narrowing the global digital divide en route to universal access of information.
It discussed the regulatory and facilitation issues towards a democratic, fair and non-threatening information flows across nations and within societies.
The various global presence in information diplomacy are hallmarks of a country shedding off the skin of pariah status.
The engagement and re-engagement policies President Mnangagwa and his Second Republic are opening wide the new vistas.
Zimbabwe is assuming its rightful place as one of Africa’s leading star in all human endeavours.
It is harnessing its rich history from the past to the present.
It is reaping from its all-encompassing educational investment over the years.
It is plying a high human development resource index that embraces capital funds and promptly and easily rewards with tantalising profits.
Mr Richard Mahomva is the director of International Communication Services in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.
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