Highway Africa @ a glance

1997: Highway Africa (HA) Conference was born when some 67 like-minded new media professionals met at the Journalism & Media Studies Department at Rhodes University, South Africa in response to the advent of ICTs and its implications on African newsrooms. Only 24 African countries had email networks at the time.

1998 - 99: HA increasingly became the event where ICTs and their effect on media is discussed.

2000: Agreement was reached to make HA an annual event bringing together journalists and new media practitioners from across the African continent. HA started carrying themes and this year's was "the challenge of universal access to new media".

2001: The theme of this year was "Digital Renaissance" in Africa.

2002: Carrying the theme of "Wiring journalism for development", HA was held for first and only time outside of Grahamstown in Johannesburg to coincide with the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development.

2003: Under the theme, "Mainstreaming Media in the Information Society", HA became the only African platform where stakeholders began to prepare for the first Phase of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Switzerland.

2004: HA became the largest gathering of African journalists with over 300 participants from 32 countries in attendance. This year's theme was "Media making the Information Society". Highway Africa News Agency (HANA) was established, made up of professional journalists from across the continent who report on various ICT issues affecting Africa and the globe.

2005: Held under the theme of 'Reinforcing journalism in the information society', the conference discussed the role African new media practitioners should play in the second phase of WSIS that was to be held in Tunis.

2006: HA celebrated its 10th birthday. Held under the theme "Highway Africa @ 10 - Celebrations, Reflections & Future Directions", the event became truly the largest gathering of African journalists with over 500 delegates drawn from 42 countries.

2007: Media delegates gathered in Grahamstown for three days this week to discuss issues relating to Internet governance, ICT policy and media for democracy under the theme: "Quality and professionalism in journalism and the media: The case for New Media".

Published courtesy of