Preamble

After exhaustive deliberations from eight plenary sessions and 23 presentations from nine panels, addressing various subjects related to the conference, which was attended by academics and media professionals from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya and the United Kingdom, the conference decided as follows:

1.  Journalism Practice

Conference agreed that the advent of the internet has the potential for fundamentally changing the practice of journalism in the African continent.

Although internet penetration in the continent is still small (with just 4% of the world’s users) in comparison to the high density levels in Europe, Asia and North America, the African print and broadcast media need to master the use of the medium to reach an audience that increaingly relies on the web for news, rather than on traditional formats like printed newspapers, magazines and non-digital radio and television channels.

Conference also agreed that the use of New Media technology must expand the frontiers of journalism in the continent and empower its citizens to demand better governance from the institutions of state in the continent.

Conference urged African governments to expedite action on the change from analogue to digital technology to enable us hook up effectively with the rest of the world.

2.  Journalism Training

Conference discussed, intensely, the quality of journalism training in Nigerian Universities and agreed that there is a need to overhaul
the existing curriculum, to prepare student journalists for the challenges of working in the fast-evolving media industry of the 21st century.  

Journalists and broadcasters with a depth of practical experience in the continent need to be closely involved with academia, in order to forge a new way of training students to meet industry needs.

Journalists and broadcasters that were in the profession before the advent of the “information superhighway” and are either sceptical of its importance or are apprehensive about using the medium should receive training. This will enable them meet the challenges that New Media would proffer, as well as benefit from their vast opportunities to communicate with a brand new audience, which continues to grow.

Conference agreed that media stakeholders (newspaper/magazine/television/radio proprietors) financial institutions and national governments should make a substantial investment in information technology for training purposes.

3. Use of New Media as a teaching tool in Africa

Conference agreed that the use of the ‘virtual classroom’ and ‘virtual libraries’ are vital tools for improving the quality of university education and increasing literacy levels in the continent.

But for this to be an effective tool, internet penetration throughout Africa would have to increase exponentially – which is a responsibility of national governments, keen on empowering the majority of Africans who ordinarily cannot afford a computer or a connection to an Internet Service Provider.

Conference also agreed that ‘Digital Villages’, which are internet centres manned and supported by local communities, should be set up to integrate the less privileged, who form the majority of Africa’s population, with the rest of the world.

4. The influence of New Media forms on the African landscape

Conference had a robust debate on the influence of New Media forms, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace on African consumers of the internet.

While some members of conference were fearful about using New Media forms that were developed outside the continent, accusing the European and North American innovators of these forms as having a ‘hidden agenda’ for unsuspecting users, others challenged Africans to take advantage of New Media technology. We should develop New Media forms that would primarily address African concerns and would be consumed by African.