AFRICA

First global nation branding index
Singapore ranked number 1 on the first ever nation branding index to include all the countries and territories of the world, launched by East West Communications in Washington, DC on Wednesday, 3 September 2008.

AFRICA

1st African Broadcast and Film Conference
Just under half of the countries in Africa have liberalised their broadcast markets and there has been a considerable growth in the number of new television and radio stations. The final opening up by the rest of the countries on the continent promises the kind of growth that the mobile market has experienced over the next five years.

Third Africa in Motion film festival
The third Africa in Motion film festival is set to take place 23 October - 2 November 2008 at the Edinburgh Filmhouse in Scotland. AiM 2008 will be a celebration of Africa's diverse cinematic output, with a greater focus on under-represented regions and a more adventurous programme than ever before.


Kenyan filmmakers to miss Africa in Motion festival
When organisers of the Africa in Motion (AiM) film festival announced the eight shortlisted films to compete at the prestigious festival, no Kenyan film was on the list.

Naspers buys into Afrigator
BREAKING NEWS: Local social media aggregator startup Afrigator.com has sold a majority stake to MIH Print Africa, a division of the Naspers group, it was announced today, Friday, 5 September 2008.


Tunisia internet users spend US$132,7m in B2C e-commerce
A new Arab Advisors Group major survey of internet users in Tunisia revealed that 36.4% of internet users in Tunisia use e-commerce. Based on the survey results, the Arab Advisors Group estimates that Tunisia's internet users spent US$132,7m during the past 12 months in e-commerce transactions.

AFRICA

Partnership to promote leadership, scholarship in Africa
[Professor Ndawonde] The Mandela Rhodes Foundation (MRF) and the United Kingdom-owned Oxford University Press (OUP) have signed an innovative partnership which will seek to promote leadership and scholarship in Africa.

East Africa varsities join up on research
In a bid to improve their ranking in East Africa, Makerere and Kyambogo universities are taking steps to improve their research work.

Dubai Lynx Festival 2008
The 2nd Dubai International Advertising Festival, incorporating the Dubai Lynx Awards, will take place 15-17 March 2009 at The Palladium, located in Dubai Media City. The festival is a creative advertising event and awards for the Middle East and North Africa.

SA to use Heritage Month to unite Africa
[Professor Ndawonde] Johannesburg: South Africa will, this year, use Heritage Month to create a stage for the African community to unite, celebrate and preserve Africa's indigenous cultures through traditional dance and music.

Visual artists converge on Abuja
More than 1,500 stakeholders in the creative arts from Africa are poised to converge on Abuja on Sunday, 7 September 2008, to promote visual arts on the continent.

Ambassadors Conference spotlights Africa
Berlin: Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be hosting the heads of Germany's diplomatic missions abroad at the 8th Ambassadors Conference, which will be held at the Federal Foreign Office from 8-11 September 2008. The theme of this year's conference is “Global Security and Development: Spotlight on Africa.”

ADF VI to focus on gender issues
The 6th African Development Forum (ADF VI) will be convened on the theme “Action on gender equality, empowerment and ending violence against women in Africa,” from 19-21 November 2008, at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Gcwala-Ngamasiko workshops kick off
African cultural groups from 11 countries across the continent arrived yesterday for the five-day Gcwala-Ngamasiko African Cultural and Dance Festival in South Africa.

Ethiopian wins the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award
Ethiopian Airlines has been awarded Corporate Achievement Award for its excellence in the airline industry by Aviation and Allied Business Publication. It has been recognised for its contribution in setting the pace in the airline industry in Africa thereby contributing significantly to socio-economic integration and development.

SOUTH AFRICA

‘Citizen journalism turns consumers into creators'
[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Citizen journalism turns consumers into creators and takes media from lecture to conservation - something traditional media has not been able to do for a long time, Dan Gillmor, of Arizona State University, told over 700 media practitioners gathered in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, on Monday, 9 September 2008, for the 12th edition of Highway Africa.

Recent attacks on the media in West Africa
Paul Abayomi Ogundeji, an editorial board member of the Lagos-based daily ThisDay, was shot dead on 17 August 2008 in a Lagos suburb while driving home. Nigerian police say unidentified armed robbers who had earlier stolen another car ambushed and shot him, but his family and others suspect police involvement, says Media Rights Agenda (MRA).

EAST AFRICA

UNESCO helps Zanzibar build broadcasting policy
Members of the House of Representatives and media owners in Zanzibar had a chance to air their views on the draft of the new broadcasting policy for Zanzibar last August. Two consultation meetings were organised by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar in co-operation with the UNESCO office in Dar es Salaam.

SOUTH AFRICA

‘Good old' Grahamstown welcomes Highway Africa 2008
[Issa Sikiti da Silva] It's Highway Africa time again and the little, old, and serene town of Grahamstown, 131km from Port-Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, has been ‘invaded' by more than 700 media practitioners from more than 40 African countries and other parts of the world, meeting here to discuss the burning issue of citizen journalism in today's fast-changing media environment. The conference opened today, Monday, 8 September 2008, at Rhodes University and will end on Wednesday.

ANGOLA

Angolan media monopoly threatens election fairness
Before Friday's Angolan elections, campaigners were busy touring the country competing for voter support. The last election in 1992 pushed Angola back into a long and bloody civil war that killed over a million people, with many more displaced. It also ushered in an era of severe repression of dissent within political and media realms.

CENTRAL AFRICA

Absence of self-regulation undermining Malawi media
[Gregory Gondwe] The absence of self-regulation in the Malawi media is said to be undermining the media industry in the country where editorial freedom is compromised under state interference.

CENTRAL AFRICA

4th gateway for Malawi amidst congestion problem
[Gregory Gondwe] Mobile phone network operator, Zain Malawi Limited on Thursday, 4 September 2008, commissioned its 4th media gateway in Blantyre amidst network congestion problems that has put off many subscribers.

2009 Global Mobile Awards open for entries
LONDON: Entries have opened for 2009 Global Mobile Awards and the penultimate round of its Mobile Innovation Global Competition, the GSMA announced yesterday, Wednesday, 3 September 2008. The GSMA's Global Mobile Awards are a platform for companies in the mobile industry to gain truly independent recognition for their work.

Using mobile phones to fight HIV
Kampala: Uganda's rising HIV prevalence is forcing policy-makers to look for inventive ways of educating people about the virus. Their latest tool is mobile phone technology, whose rapid growth has provided an avenue that could potentially reach millions with messages.

UGANDA

Uganda: SMS marketing irks MTN subscribers
[Walter Wafula] Mobile phone communication is meant to ease life and add flavour to it, however it is also turning out to be a nuisance to Ugandans. In the past three weeks, fed-up subscribers of MTN Uganda have continuously and publicly complained of unsolicited marketing messages from the company with threats to quite its network.

Exactmobile denies allegations made by NORM
Exactmobile responded today to a press release issued by the National Organisation for Reproduction Rights in Music in Southern Africa (NORM). Exactmobile emphatically denies the allegation made by NORM that the company is in any way infringing the rights of NORM's members.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

NORM issues summons against Exactmobile
The National Organisation for Reproduction Rights in Music in Southern Africa (NORM) has issued a multi-million rand summons against Exactmobile.


MTL rolls out mobile fixed phones
[Gregory Gondwe] Malawi Telecoms Limited (MTL), the country's only fixed-line operator, has launched a wireless fixed telephone, expected to give users flexibility of mobility within a coverage zone.

AFRICA

UN and GuideStar International put African charities online
GuideStar International (GSI) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) announced in August a joint venture to develop a free web portal for African civil society organisations, which will showcase the work of all NGOs, charities, non-profit organisations and community-based organisations from the smallest to the largest.

Barclays Bank continues to lead in African airport advertising - Alliance Media
Barclays Bank has launched a dominant airport advertising campaign in Uganda where Barclays have adopted area ownership of key sites and areas within the airport, targeting arriving and departing passengers as well as the busy meet-and-greet trade.

Quo Vadis to handle CAF Southern Africa's Conference on Sustainability - Quo Vadis Communications
CAF Southern Africa has appointed Quo Vadis Communications (QVC) to work on media liaison and public relations for its two-day conference titled Innovating for Sustainability - ‘Africans investing in Africa', to be held 17 - 18 September 2008.

Bidco brings Fortune to Ugandans
[Walter Wafula] Bidco, a major edible oil produced in Uganda has added Fortune to its product assortment, offering Ugandans more choice in the market. The unveiling of Fortune to Ugandans in Kampala was held on 6 September 2008.

Malawi: Real Insurance Company overwhelmed with response after IPO
[Gregory Gondwe] Real Insurance Company Limited was last Monday, 1 September 2008, overwhelmed with the response it got after its stocks went on market through an Initial Public Offer (IPO).

Can carbon trading spur growth?
Dakar: Hundreds attending the first all-African carbon forum agreed entrepreneurs in Africa need cash to break into the expanding international carbon emissions trading market.

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe: Retailers hit hard by tough cash terms
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's retail outlets are facing a fresh crisis as manufacturers and other product providers demand cash for supplies.

Mozambique: Cheap rail travel boosts cross-border trade
Angelina Sidumo is one of the hundreds of traders that throng the busy train station in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, on most Wednesday afternoons to catch the once-weekly train south to Chicualacuala town in Gaza Province, an 18-hour journey covering nearly 500km.

Commonwealth discusses solutions to rising food, fuel prices
[Walter Wafula] Finance ministers of Commonwealth member countries are scheduled to meet in St Lucia to discuss solutions to the recent rise in fuel and food prices. The meeting will be held in Castries, the capital city of St Lucia, from 6-8 October, 2008.

SOUTH AFRICA

Shoprite pushes its expansion harder in Africa
[Thabang Mokopanele] Food and furniture retailer Shoprite has vowed to push ahead with its expansion into Africa.

Africa must continue seeking new financial partners
African countries should continue courting new financial partners to ensure the region can implement developmental projects, says the World Bank's vice-president for Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili.

Alvaro to grace Ugandan shelves before 2008 ends
[Walter Wafula] After successfully testing the Kenyan market, Alvaro a new non-alcoholic drink will be launched in Uganda as its second market, an official at East African Breweries Limited (EABL) said.

Shoprite African operations deliver strong results
[Tiisetso Motsoeneng] South African-based retailer Shoprite is confident that its African operations will maintain their strong growth rate.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Changing4ever with the Southern Africa Trust
The Change4ever campaign targets a newer generation of South Africans who believe that we need to address the causes of poverty, rather than just the symptoms - to give to a solution rather than the problem.

Vote of confidence for GTV in large investments
An additional US$35 million of external funding has been secured, bringing the total capital invested into the GTV business so far to almost US$200 million. With further investment over the coming months, this allegedly makes GTV one of the biggest investments in the history of African media.