African AI at regional Journalism Education Conference
Namibia Media Trust, CITE and MISA Malawi co-hosted a regional media conference on the Future of Journalism Education in Southern Africa, with a theme of “Empowering African AI”, asking what the new technologies mean for marginalized and underprivileged communities. The hybrid conference was hosted in Windhoek, Bulawayo and Lilongwe, with each host convening sessions around the theme. Highlights included sessions on TikTok for newsrooms presented by CITE’s social media editor Lungile Ngwenya, an Audience Engagement Masterclass with Alet Law from Daily Maverick and an overview session on Challenges and Opportunities for Media in the Disruptive Digital Era presented by Dr. Francis Mdlongwa. You can see all the conference recordings here.
Meet Alice, CITE’s new AI presenter
Director Zenzele Ndebele presented CITE’s experimentation with an AI newsreader during their recent Zimbabwean election coverage. Alice has been well received by CITE’s Matabeleland audience though Prof. Mphathisi Ndlovu noted there are still issues with her pronunciation of certain African words. Alice presents CITE’s daily “The Brief” news bulletin and has her own X account which you can follow here. Zenzele and Alice also announced they will co-host a new analysis show on CITE’s YouTube channel. As Paul McNally recommended in a recent DevelopAI newsletter, “Even before I found out about CITE’s AI progress, their newsletter Asakhe Daily guided me through the recent Zim election. They are worth following.”
Enrol in NMT’s Digital Policy EdX course
There is still time to enroll for the Media and Digital Policy in Africa online course offered by Namibia Media Trust in partnership with the University of Stellenbosch. The free course offered on the EdX platform covers freedom of expression, African digital policy, governance and regulation and there are already more than 250 registrations. The course, facilitated by Prof. Guy Berger, is self-paced with interactive discussion forums as well as as option to upgrade to a verified certificate. Find out more here
SAMIP publishers featured on a number of panels at the recent #AfricaFlows Civic Tech Innovation Forum and Jamfest, a four-day showcase of the hottest innovations in media and civic technology on the continent. The Mail & Guardian‘s Digital Editor Scott Peter Smith outlined their move towards a reader revenue strategy on a panel on media sustainability and redefining business models. Health-e‘s Managing Editor Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla featured on a panel discussing audience engagement and Seen‘s Nella Etkind presented a Masterclass on Augmented Reality, showing how to make interactive filters using Lens Studio.
