Grahamstown — Rhodes University's Highway Africa conference has secured official status as part of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg next month.

Highway Africa is a six-year-old annual event focussing on African journalism and Internet, combining high-level discussions and hands-on training. Convened by Rhodes and SABC for 21-23 August, it is sponsored by the Department of Communications and hosted by the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa.

Along with 40 students from Rhodes, about 60 African journalists will stay on after highway African to report on the Summit.

Under the theme of "wiring journalism for international development" the three-day programme at Highway African will analyse the role of media in defining the digital divide and how new technology can help journalists bridge it.

Topics include the Internet revolution,the role of a free press and making technology affordable to Africa. Workshops will cover internet research skills, web publishing and the use of Geographical Information Systems for reporting on sustainable development.

Speakers and delegates have been confirmed from Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the SADC countries and the USA.

Highway Africa has won a nomination for the prestigious Tech Awards run by The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California in the category of using technology to promote equality.