WINDHOEK, APRIL 26 – All Africa Global Media announced it would launch a new convening platform: the AllAfrica Media Leaders’ Summit (AMLS) in Nairobi.
This comes after pressing appeals from media practitioners and stakeholders across Africa who have continuously stressed the importance of a free, independent, professional and thriving media industry in regard to the continent’s future.
AMLS highlighted that on as early as November 4th, 2008 in Senegal, AllAfrica Global Media organized a continental media gathering of 50 of Africa’s most influential media leaders with support from the World Bank, Ecobank, Coca-Cola and Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. This culminated in the launch of the African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF) which has grown from strength to strength. At the time, it emerged as the most important annual gathering for Media leaders and Media Stakeholders across the continent.
From 2008 to 2013, the Forum successfully brought together media stakeholders, influential journalists, senior editors, civil society organisations, academics, business leaders and also heads of state. Various leaders of Africa’s prestigious institutions such as African Union, African Development Bank and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, growing from 50 attendees to more than 500 participants.
However, it underwent a 10-year hiatus and is set to launch the new annual initiative, the AMLS. “This vital convening platform is re-established as part of a broader campaign to support media practitioners with the skills, enhanced contextual knowledge and structures to play appropriate and essential roles in driving regional integration and the transformation of African economies, whilst championing human development,” said AllAfrica Global Media in a statement.
“AMLS 2024 will bring together over 250 top African media leaders, owners and operators (representing almost all African countries and territories), global media players and opinion leaders, government officials, corporate leaders, academics, civil society champions, and
development partners to discuss the business of media and the critical role it must play in shaping Africa’s future. AMLS will be held from the 8th to the 10th of May this year in Nairobi, under the theme: ‘Re-engineering African Media in Times of Critical Transformation’.”
The need for a pan-African media leaders gathering It is widely believed that the adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a game changer that could usher in an era of development and prosperity. While increased digitization, the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI), widespread misinformation and disinformation campaigns, the use of deep fakes have created opportunities in the media industry, it threatens to exacerbate civil unrest and conflicts, read the statement. AllAfrica Global Media added that a new annual convening of Africa’s media leaders could play a critical role in addressing critical issues that concerned everyone.
The Summit’s core objectives are: To share an understanding of forces shaping Africa’s Integration and align on the role of Africa’s media in crafting the continent’s economic transformation and integration narrative; To support media leaders and practitioners through an era of rapid change and constant technological disruption with the world as we knew it, pre-covid, morphing into a new reality in a context marked by AI, digitization, the scourge of disinformation and misinformation as well as economies responding to the post-
pandemic recession and; To share and discuss new ideas to gain enhanced contextual knowledge in order to shape and support Africa’s future by strengthening the continent’s collective efforts towards African Integration and economic progress in line with the UN
SDGs and Agenda 2063 ~ The Africa We Want.
“The agenda of the Summit revolves around six key pillars namely: African Economic Transformation; AI, Technology and Digitization; Regional Integration and Peacebuilding; Misinformation and Disinformation; Governance, Standards, and Capacity Building and; Creating Sustainable Business Models,” the institution said. AllAfrica will also bring “great innovations” to this edition of the Summit while taking into account a dynamic media landscape in the face of digitization, emerging technologies and developmental progress.
“An annual gathering of key stakeholders to have these important conversations is more important today than ever before and AllAfrica is looking forward to heading up this continental initiative.”
African Youth Newspaper
