Digital Media Africa 2024 will focus on accelerating digital transformation for African news publishers, securing and growing digital revenue, addressing challenges and opportunities in digital revenue generation, and exploring the role of AI in African newsrooms. The conference will also cover strategies for engaging young audiences, building public trust through inclusive leadership, and navigating the evolving advertising landscape.

 

The event comes at a particularly challenging moment for the continent’s newspaper publishers. “With mounting newsprint and distribution cost pressures, along with print publications downsizing or closing, it is urgent for African publishers to speed up their digital transformation programs. This is necessary to establish a strong foundation for generating digital revenue and to fulfil their crucial role in society,” said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA. “We believe this event will serve as a catalyst for goodwill and bring new and encouraging opportunities to our African colleagues through increased international collaboration,” added Peyrègne.

 

The conference programme is designed to share practical case studies and insights into enhancing audience engagement and revenue growth, including the use of new technologies.

 

Digital Media Africa is made possible thanks to the support of WAN-IFRA’s local partners and sponsors. WAN-IFRA would like to express appreciation for the support of the following individuals and organizations:

Professor Nancy Booker, Dean of the Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications (AKU-GSMC), and her team, who host the conference;
Programme advisor Churchill Otieno, Executive Director of the Eastern Africa Editors Society (EAES);
The WAN-IFRA Women in News team executives Jane Godia, Director Africa, Susan Makore, Director Insights and Global Advisory and Melanie Walker, Executive Director Media Development;
Google, and in particular, Matt Cooke, Marianne Erasmus, and Chantal Ferraro, for their support and eagerness to organize Digital Media Africa’s return in person!

 

Deodatus Balile, President of The Eastern Africa Editors Society, commented: “This collaboration brings together a powerful network of media leaders and innovators to explore the critical issues shaping Africa’s digital media landscape. We believe this conference will be a valuable platform for knowledge sharing, fostering collaboration, and driving positive change within the region’s ever-evolving media industry.“

Contact and Inquiries

For further inquiries on the programme and sponsoring opportunities, please contact:

 

Valérie Arnould, Deputy Director Digital revenue Network at WAN-IFRA | valerie.arnould@wan-ifra.org.
Sumithra Hönig, Deputy Director, Global Sales | sumithra.hoenig@wan-ifra.org.

ABOUT WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, is the global organisation of the world’s press. Its mission is to protect the rights of journalists and publishers around the world to operate independent media. We provide our members with expertise and services to innovate and prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in society. It derives its authority from its global network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from its 60 member publisher associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries. See more at wan-ifra.org.