Former South African president Thabo Mbeki was named "African of the Year" by Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper at the African Media Leaders Forum in Dakar, Senegal.
Mbeki was honoured for his outstanding leadership in his efforts to avert war between Sudan and South Sudan.
"If you look into the mirror and you are not happy, maybe you are ugly," the Sudanese mobile telecoms pioneer told the forum.
Access to finance poses serious obstacles to African media development.
A communications specialist wants youth included in media management.
Erik Forster/AMIThe Ghanaian-born Professor George Ayittey, right, stressed the importance of media and free flow of information on the advancement and development of societies, adding that out of the 54 countries in Africa, only 10 have free media.
AMISocial actors in countries plagued by corruption and ineffective governance can be held accountable only through the media, a public debate ahead of the African Media Leaders Forum has been told.
(left) African Media Initiative head Amadou Mahtar Ba.
Financial consolidation is a must for media groups to perform well, says Amadou Kanouté, the executive director of the Pan-African Institute for Consumers Citizenship and Development.
Media Trust Limited's chief executive officer, Nigeria's Kabiru Abdullahi Yusuf has suggested that media should be rewarded for resisting government pressures and control.
The founder of Femmes Africa Solidarité, Bineta Diop, has urged the media to show a positive image of marginalized groups, particularly women and young men.
The main theme of this year's AMLF sessions is "Africa 3.0: Strengthening Media and Governance through Citizens Engagement and Innovation".
A renowned poet and media worker has become the 18th media worker to be killed in the country this year.
There are fears that Zimbabwe's small but vibrant private media face renewed muzzling ahead of elections next year.
A recent edition of a weekly newspaper ended up in a bonfire after including an opposition leader's speech.
Linus Gitahi, left, CEO of the Nation Media Group in Kenya, with the chairman of Nigeria's THISDAY Group, Nduka Obaigbena, at the inaugural meeting of the forum. Around 30 CEOs of African media organizations called for a stronger push for media development in Africa.
Speakers at the second African Media Leaders Forum called for an integration of old and new media in presenting information to the people of Africa. The meeting ended with a call on media owners and operators to embrace the digital revolution for seamless information dissemination.
Media owners from across the African continent vowed at the AMLF meeting in Cameroon to end reliance on donor funding and rid the industry of corrupt practices. The forum brought together more than 225 African media owners from 48 African countries.
Some 350 media owners and editors joined the fourth annual forum to discuss how to help improve the living conditions of Africans. Tunisian Prime Minister Beji Caid El Sebsi, right, spoke of an active social media landscape in his newly democratized country.
African Media Leaders Meet on Development Issues - November 2008
The African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF)
is the flagship programme of African Media Initiative (AMI), providing media owners and operators an exciting opportunity to interact with peers, investors, policy makers, development partners and technology leaders. Since 2008, AMLF has grown from 55 participants at its inaugural Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, to 185 participants in 2009 at the Lagos Forum in Nigeria, to 300 participants in 2010 at the Yaoundé Forum in Cameroon. In November 2011, close to 350 delegates attended the Forum in Tunis, Tunisia.
The AMLF will continue to act as the key AMI annual event for the showcasing of its project work and for the examination and agenda setting of critical issues facing the sector.
The 5th African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF) will be held on November 8 and 9, 2012. The theme of this year's edition is "Africa 3.0: Strengthening Media and Governance Through Citizens' Engagement and Innovation".
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