Stratcom Summit 2026: ‘No one can tell African stories better than Africans’

The International Strategic Communication Summit has opened in Istanbul, Türkiye, with participants from around the world, including many from Africa. 

In a video message delivered to the summit on Friday, Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan highlighted the importance of the summit and welcomed the participants to Istanbul, which he described as "a meeting point of continents, cultures, and civilisations." 

Highlighting that the post-World War II international system is facing a deep legitimacy crisis, President Erdoğan said the need for the restoration of global peace, stability, and justice has become "more urgent than ever" given some of the escalating conflicts and humanitarian tragedies, particularly in Gaza. 

The Stratcom Summit, taking place from 27 to 28 March, is organised by the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications. 

Since 2021, it has convened leaders across media, policy, and academia to examine how communication is shaping the world. This year's theme is: "Disruption in the International System: Crises, Narratives, and the Search for Order". 

In his opening remarks at the 2026 edition, Türkiye’s Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran said the summit would "address both the technical dimensions of strategic communication and the multidimensional crises shaping the international system, along with the narratives that deepen these crises." 

He said the international community is entering a new and uncertain era, the contours of which are not yet fully defined. Referring to Immanuel Wallerstein's well-known expression, Duran stated that "we are at the end of the world as we know it." 

Addressing the summit, Türkiye's Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz stressed the strategic importance of communication in the modern complex environment, stating that it has become "a key component of internal security by strengthening societal resilience, facilitating access to accurate information, and increasing resistance to disinformation."

‘Bridging gaps’ 

Africa is part of this conversation. Delegates from countries including The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Djibouti, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Guinea are contributing their perspectives, bringing regional insights into global discussions about information, trust, and influence. 

"Events like this are crucial, especially at a time when the global community has become increasingly smaller but the spread of news is expansive, and most of it is unauthenticated, fake news," Ali Muhammad Ali, Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, told TRT Afrika. 

"It's important to have regular interface like this from among and between key media actors, scholars. It will provide a platform for understanding and cooperation. Events like this would expose some of us from Africa and the global South to greater understanding, bridging whatever gaps there are, especially in these days of AI, the spread of fake news, and so many other drawbacks," Ali said. 

Africans telling own stories 

Stratcom has become a key platform for global dialogue, bringing together participants from more than 50 countries. 

For African nations, the stakes are high, not only in protecting democratic processes and public trust but also in shaping how the continent is perceived on the world stage. 

"No one can tell the African story better than Africans themselves, and what we are doing, if you look at news agencies, especially in developing countries or what I call the global South, you see increasing partnerships, for example, I know at the African level there are so many regional bodies, for example, there is the Federation of Atlantic African Press Agencies, a conglomerate of African Press agencies," Ali observed. 

"Unlike in the past when Western media hegemony set the agenda, now Africans are telling their own stories using alternative means," he added. 

The Nigerian media executive suggested more efforts in media literacy to combat fake news and negative narrative. 

"I would suggest that African countries and indeed the global South, first, media literacy is important. Especially now with the rise of artificial intelligence, you can do almost anything with artificial intelligence. So media literacy is very important, and capacity building, collaboration among NGOs, independent media organisations away from government, state-run media organisations."