Goma, 25 January 2013 – The Head of the Public Information Division of United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), Madnodje Mounoubai, on Wednesday, 23 January 2013, launched the first edition of what will become the new format of the UN Mission's weekly press conference, which will link up journalists of Kinshasa with their peers in Goma, the regional capital of eastern DRC in Nord Kivu province, via video-teleconference. This innovative move is part of a new communication strategy to increase media coverage for United Nations actions in the country.

Enabling "participation of Nord-Kivu journalists in UN press conferences from Kinshasa provides media professionals operating in eastern DRC a great opportunity to inform the local population," Mr. Mounoubai said, speaking at the end of the press conference, which he has been chairing in his capacity as the mission's spokesperson.

Journalists based in Goma lauded this initiative as an innovation, which will enable them to bring fresh news to their local audiences, and even beyond the national borders, especially concerning peace efforts undertaken by actors of the international community in the country.

Some of the questions raised from Goma during this press conference evolved around the proposal by MONUSCO to use surveillance drones to monitor the border line between the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda; the decision to set up an international neutral force between these three countries; and the humanitarian situation of IDP camps in eastern DRC.

Another uniqueness of MONUSCO's weekly press conference lies in the fact that it is chaired jointly by the mission and the UN agencies present in the country, in line with the One-UN spirit.

Sylvestre Kilolo / MONUSCO