Africa Media Leaders Forum

The continent is undergoing rapid political, economic, and cultural changes, in the context of a complicated global environment. This is marked by climate change, food and fuel shortages, growing demand for raw materials, falling trade barriers, an unprecedented economic and financial crisis and the rising expectations of an increasingly educated population. These transformational forces present both major challenges and important opportunities.

The transformation in Africa has also brought a surging demand for mass media products. This demand has been matched by a significant increase in newspaper titles, broadcast houses and online outlets (including bloggers and citizen journalists), each with its cadre of news reporters and commentators.

The private sector, governments, development agencies, and foundations now collectively invest more than 300 million dollars a year in these and other media products throughout the continent. However, this flow of resources and the rapidly expanding number of news reporters and commentators has not resulted in any noticeable improvement in the state of media or the quality of journalism on the continent.

The media sector has not had much of an impact on public policy or the public debate about how the transformational forces at play in Africa can be managed. Africa’s media leaders came together at the first African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF), held in Dakar, Senegal, in November 2008, to reflect on the condition of the media, and how they can engage with those emerging forces to improve the state of African media. The significance of the AMLF cannot be overestimated. It marks the first time that some of the key figures in African media have come together as a group to discuss their common interests and concerns. The Forum has allowed for the emergence of an overarching consciousness about media as a powerful factor in Africa’s social and political discourse.