Press Council key member of first Pan-African Media Councils Summit
PICTURE: Peter Okello (Media Council of Uganda), Kemantha Govender (Press Council of South Africa), Fanie Groenewald (Press Council of South Africa), Prof Ruby Magosvongwe (Zimbabwe Media Commission), Samson Mujuda (Media Self Regulation Council of Zambia), Kennedy Mambwe (Media Self Regulation Council of Zambia) and Mbongeni Mbingo (eSwatini Editors Forum) at the inaugural African Media Councils meeting in Cape Town in May 2024, when NIMCA was launched
Sunday Aikulola
The first Pan-African Media Councils Summit will be held at the Arusha International Conference Centre in Arusha, Tanzania, from 14 to 17 July 2025.
Themed ‘Advancing media and communication regulations for journalism excellence in Africa’, the summit aims to interrogate critical issues impacting the media landscape in Africa and beyond, focusing on media independence, media economy, media sustainability, climate change and contemporary issues affecting the media’s critical roles of agenda setting, information dissemination and watchdog functions.
Hosted by the Network of Independent Media Councils in Africa (NIMCA) [of which the Press Council of South Africa is a co-founder and a member of its Technical Team] in collaboration with the Media Council of Tanzania and East Africa Press Councils (EAPC), the summit is organised with support from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Media Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Read ‘NIMCA chairman invites African media councils to join Pan-Africanist body’, here
The summit also seeks to bring together members of the World Association of Press Councils (WAPC), their African counterparts and other key stakeholders from across the continent to deliberate, collaborate and establish a unified approach to media regulation in Africa.
According to the organisers, in an increasingly connected but fragmented world, it is necessary to herald a new era of building common approaches, establishing codes of ethics for new media and support credible, sustainable journalism across the African continent.
They noted that as the media industry continues to evolve with advancements in technology and shifts in societal expectations, there is an urgent need for legal and regulatory frameworks that can adapt and ensure a free, responsible, and ethical media environment.
- This article was first published here
