Cheers to Africa! - 4 Jun 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] WOW! Can you believe that we are officially half way through 2012? Time really does fly when you're having fun! Some of the news and events that took place in the past six months include:
Seeing Africa in a new light - 28 May 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] Friday, 25 May 2012 marked Africa Day, the annual commemoration of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). In 1963, leaders of 30 of the 32 independent African states signed a founding charter in Ethiopia. read more Media in Malawi - 21 May 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] By the look of things, it seems the president of Malawi, Joyce Banda, is showing no sign of slowing down since being sworn in as president, after the passing of late president Bingu wa Mutharika. Since her appointment as president of the country, she has fired the then Information and Civic Education Minister, Patricia Kaliati, and the CEO of Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), Bright Malopa. She then appointed Moses Kunkuyu as Information and Civic Education Minister, while broadcaster Dr. read more A week of launches - 14 May 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] Last week saw the launching of the African News Innovation Challenge, the West Africa Cable System, Airtel's Green Data Centre and the ITWeb Africa website. With the help of generous sponsors, Google launched the African News Innovation Challenge which looks for ideas that will transform the way that African media work and to help African journalism flourish in the digital age. I look forward to seeing some of the great ideas that will emerge from this challenge. read more Moving along... - 7 May 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] So after all the public holidays that we've been having here in South Africa, things are pretty much back to normal once again in the office. Last week we celebrated World Press Freedom Day. This day, observed annually on 3 May globally, focuses on the importance of the freedom of the press and freedom of expression. read more New research puts spotlight on how – and why – ads work - 30 Apr 2012[Rod Baker, Content Director] Researchers at the University of Los Angeles in the US have found that when it comes to which ads are winners your brain knows better than you do. Neuroscientists at the university used brain data to predict how large populations will respond to advertisements. It's sad, but true, that one of the world's most dangerous professions is journalism. read more Countdown to World Press Freedom Day - 23 Apr 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] Next week Thursday, 3 May 2012, is World Press Freedom Day, which marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991 in Windhoek, Namibia. This year, the main celebration of World Press Freedom Day will be held in Tunis from 3-5 May, jointly organised by UNESCO and the Tunisian Government under the theme 'New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies'. According to a study released in May 2011, the number of people worldwide with access to free and independent media declined to its lowest level in over a decade. read more Social media can be a funny thing - 16 Apr 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] Social media can be a funny thing at times. Especially when it comes to breaking news. read more Let's get going.... - 2 Apr 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] So we've completed the first trimester of 2012 and so far so much has happened on the continent. Here are just some of the things that stood out for me in the past three months: we released our 2012 Biz Trends report and it is still available to download in pdf format; Airtel continues to expand its footprint on the continent with its latest move, launching mobile services in Rwanda; research revealed how Africa tweets; there's been some positive growth in media in Malawi; Design Indaba 2012 has come and gone and Samsung is set to offer free satellite TV to Africa. The one thing that remains the same is the ongoing battle of media freedom on the continent. read more Africa is getting there - 26 Mar 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] Over the weekend I got into a discussion on the topic of living in Africa. The person who I had this discussion with was from South Africa, the same place where I'm from. read more For the better... - 19 Mar 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] Last week I mentioned that media freedom in parts of Africa is still an ongoing battle. Following MISA-Malawi's response on recent incidents, the chairman of the Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, Anthony Kasunda, has since received threats over the chapter's stance on the Malawi government's repeated attacks on the media. read more Media freedom - the battle continues - 12 Mar 2012[Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985] Media freedom in some parts of Africa is still an ongoing battle. In Malawi, information and civic education minister, Patricia Kaliati is reported to have verbally assaulted journalist, Gregory Gondwe, following an article in which Gondwe reports on the annual assessment of the presidential cabinet. read more Going mobile in Africa - 5 Mar 2012[Evan-Lee Courie] Towards the end of 2011 I made the statement that the African continent wasn't showing any sign of slowing down, especially in the mobile sector. We are now approaching the end of the first quarter of the year and things are still looking bright. With that said, Airtel Africa has announced that it will continue its existing partnership with Google, with the aim to make internet products more accessible to consumers across Africa. read more Time for Design Indaba 2012 - 27 Feb 2012[Evan-Lee Courie] It's that time again when thousands of the world's brightest talents from across various creative industries descend on Cape Town, South Africa, for the annual Design Indaba Conference and Expo. The conference takes place from Wednesday 29 February until Friday 2 March 2012 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the expo (which is open to the general public) takes place 2-4 March. read more A world without knowing - 20 Feb 2012[Evan-Lee Courie] Could you ever imagine a world without having access to information? A world in which we didn't know what was happening around the world? For the life of me, I can't for one second imagine just how it would be. News sites, newspapers, radio, television, social networks - just how they have become part of our very existence is beyond amazing. There isn't one day where I go about my everyday doings without having to check social networks to see what's happening in the world. read more |
