2006 Highway Africa media conference launched

SABC group CEO Dali Mpofu, Rhodes University's head of Journalism School Prof Guy Berger, Absa Group marketing executive Happy Ntshingila, Department of Communications' Devan Naidoo and conference director Chris Kabwato briefed the media about the significance of the upcoming event and what lies ahead.

Strong continental focus

In his introductory remarks, Mpofu said that the event has a significant importance and a strong continental focus especially as Africa has been chosen to organise the biggest sport show on earth.

"The timing is superb and we should all gear up to provide Africans with valuable information and technological tools vital to enjoy the event. Hopefully the media is expected to play a prominent role," he said.

Now in its tenth edition, the Highway Africa Conference is said to be the world's biggest get-together of media practitioners, private companies and NGOs. And this year it will celebrate its past decade and initiate a declaration that assesses African media's progress in the 50 years since Ghana became the first country to gain independence in 1957.

Professor Berger said: "Highway Africa has grown systematically in the past 10 years and it is still going strong. Journalism is not philosophy where one only reads books. But here it is an outreach field. You have to do a lot of networking and the whole industry is behind you to provide you with whatever support you need."

Network of sharing

"Highway Africa is a reliable network of sharing information aiming at promoting media growth and effectively understanding crucial issues. It also does make a terrific contribution to the promotion of economic growth and the African Renaissance," Berger added.

Berger emphasises that the network helps journalists to keep up to speed with changes - digital and others - that are occurring in the media environment and how they can face various challenges that they encounter in their day-to-day activities.

There will be major debates as well as training sessions in areas of media technology, production and media freedom. Three African editors' associations, including the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF), will meet in Grahamstown just ahead of Highway Africa, and there will also be workshops on blogging before and after the conference.

The event is a great place to socialise and network, and this year there will be even more social events, including exhibitions and books' launch, and many more, the organisers said.

Contribute a lot

Absa executive Ntshingila, whose company has just come on board and pledged R365 000 support to the project, said that journalists make a lot of contribution in all sectors of life, but get very little support from society. "I am a trained journalist even though I never became one, so I know what I am talking about," he said emotionally.

"It is in this spirit that we have joined the chorus of other corporations to support this initiative because we believe that it will make a significant impact on both South Africa and Africa."

Ntshingila and conference director Kabwato signed a MoU, formalising Absa's involvement as the official financial partner of the conference. Part of Absa's involvement is to sponsor two journalists from each of 13 countries where Barclays and Absa do business to attend the conference.

For more information on the conference, call Chris Kabwato on +27 (0)82 582 9534, or email or log on www.highwayafrica.ru.ac.za.