Bamako 2002 ConferenceMedia Forum Sunday, 26th May 2002 Background Even though the Bamako regional conference will bring Africa's voice to the World Summit on the Information Society, the process of developing an African vision for the information age began in April 1995 with the African Regional Symposium on Telematics for Development organised by ECA, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Subsequently, the twenty-first meeting of ECA Conference of Ministers, which consists of the fifty-three African ministers of social and economic development and planning, adopted Resolution 795 (XXX) entitled "Building Africa's Information Highway". In response to this resolution ECA appointed a High-Level Working Group on Information and Communications Technologies in Africa to draft an action framework to utilise the information and communications technologies to accelerate the socio-economic development of Africa and its people. The result of its work is this document "Africa's Information Society Initiative (AISI): An Action Framework to Build Africa's Information and Communication Infrastructure". The initiative aims at supporting and accelerating socio-economic development across the region, and driven by critical development imperatives, it focuses on priority strategies, programmes and projects, which can assist in the sustainable build up of an information society in African countries. One of the major goals of the AISI is to enable African leaders, decision makers and planners to position Africa in the world's rapidly expanding global economic system and accelerate the pursuit of Africa's development goals. With the advent of the information society and the rapid changes taking place in economies and societies as a result, there is a constant need for sensitizing policy and decision-makers and the general public on developments and trends. The Media and the Information Society Undoubtedly, the media represents a value-added constituency to promote, sensitise and ensure greater awareness on all aspects of the information society and provide mechanisms whereby people make informed decisions. As purveyors of information, the media in Africa have a critical role to play in enabling greater awareness and debate, projecting the voice of the continent during the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in Geneva in December 2003 and in Tunis in 2005. The Summit aims to formulate a common vision of the Information Society, while respecting diversity and offering equitable development opportunities for all. The media can amplify diverse voices, ensure that they are heard and help citizens participate in shaping their countries' vision of an Information Society. Consequently, this Media Forum, to be organized by ECA in collaboration with GKP and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation - SDC will form the basis for a Media and ICT programme that provide understanding on the concept of the information society, leading to the creation of a Network. The major questions that this forum will address include: how the media can benefit from the information society, how they can contribute to enabling Africans become active participants of the information society, and what is required for enabling them play this role. Forum objectives The overall aim is for the development of Africa' information society by building a critical mass of journalists that can specialise on this subject matter whilst promoting awareness in society. 1. To provide a forum whereby media
practitioners on the continent can share experiences and information on the Information
Society; Expected Outcomes In line with the above-mentioned objectives, the following outcomes are expected: 1. Creation of a Network for the
media so as to focus on their role in the Information Society. Participation The bulk of participants will be drawn from across the media spectrum, namely radio, television, newspapers as well as practitioners from on-line media. The forum will also be open to individual journalists and editors interested in ICT issues as well as representatives from national and regional media institutions, such as Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA), East Africa Media Institute (EAMI), the West African Journalists Association (WAJA), the Federation of African Media Women (FAMW) and the Africa Media Women's Centre (AMWC).
Moderator: ECA Part One: Benefiting from
Information Society 2.15 - 2.30pm How the media can benefit from the Information Society 2.30 - 3.15pm Discussion 3.15 - 3.30pm Coffee break Part Two: Promoting the Information
Society 4.15 - 4.30pm What are the main issues for the media to grapple with? 4.30 - 5.15pm Discussion 5.15 - 6.00pm Recommendations:
announcement of the ICT Media Awards programme and the creation of a Network for
journalists. |