Italians in Africa have already had the opportunity to appreciate her in recent years on Rai Italia, as presenter of the programme 'Italia con voi'. The new correspondent of national television from Nairobi will be the well-known journalist Maria Cuffaro.
It will be her turn, an experienced professional, to replace the historic Kenyan bureau chief Enzo Nucci, who opened the correspondence from Sub-Saharan Africa 16 years ago.
"Africa is not only hunger, misery, wars. It is full of stories full of life that I want to unearth and tell,' the new correspondent, who will take office in November, told Africa Magazine. 'It is a great challenge, both professional and human. A great opportunity and a great responsibility. I will do my best to give the African continent the visibility it deserves, trying to counter many stereotypes that still persist in public opinion'.
Maria Cuffaro, 58, a Roman of Sicilian and Helvetic-Indian origins, joined RAI very young, in 1989 and worked for years at TG3 directed by Sandro Curzi, was Michele Santoro's collaborator in the programmes "Il rosso e il nero" and "Sciuscià" and presenter of many important programmes. In 2005, she was awarded the 'Ilaria Alpi Prize' for the report 'Sotto le bombe a Nassiriya' (Under the bombs in Nassiriya) made for the programme Primo Piano on Rai 3.
It should be noted that the RAI office in Nairobi was named after the Italian journalist killed in an attack in Somalia and her cameraman Mirko Hrovatin. The fact that RAI has chosen such a high-profile figure for Nairobi is a sign of the interest that the national media is returning to the emerging regions of Africa.