Africa Media Initiative (AMI)

Region

Africa

Programme Summary

Africa Media Initiative (AMI) is in part a response to the Report of the Commission for Africa which in 2005 highlighted the need for greater attention, resources, and collaboration to strengthen Africa's media. The current AMI process is the confluence of two large-scale consultative processes involving key representatives of the African media: the African Media Development Initiative (AMDI) and Strengthening African Media (STREAM). AMI is currently involving key media stakeholders in Africa to develop policies and plans to build a strong and effective media on the contintent.

Communication Strategies

This initiative is based on the idea that if Africa is to move from economic dependency to become a continent of developed and democratic nations, the emergence of independent and vibrant media is essential. AMI aims to play a large role in assisting in the process and has so far been working to produce a set of ideas and policies that will support this change.

AMI emphasises the need to professionalise both managerial and editorial skills, strengthen the financial and business footing of media houses, and enhance the political and legal status of journalism. AMI believes that these elements will build the media's capacity to promote good governance and economic growth, making a direct and beneficial impact on the lives of the continent's citizens.

AMI's ideas and proposals were discussed in May 2008 at a meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, in which AMI presented briefings on progress to date to a group of invited media practitioners and specialists from Africa and beyond.

Development Issues

Media Development, Governance

Key Points

AMI is the result of two major consultative processes involving key stakeholders in the African media sector - Africa Media Development Initiative (AMDI) and Strengthening African Media (STREAM):
STREAM, which was facilitated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), ran a workshop with selected media and communications experts in Addis Ababa, in March 2006. The objective of the workshop was to arrive at a shared understanding of the state of the media sector in Africa and discuss a collaborative way forward.

AMDI involved the production of a large body of research, carried out by the BBC World Service Trust in partnership with two African universities, which looked at the state of the media in 17 sub-Saharan African countries. The report includes information on the increasing diversity of media in Africa, the challenges facing media and journalists in developing media landscapes, and the frequent lack of professional standards, equipment, and financial resources.

The combination of STREAM's workshop and AMDI's findings helped establish priorities that continue to shape the work of the African Media Initiative and will be the focus of AMI.