Africa: 2005 IPI World Congress to Focus On Developments in Africa

22 March 2005
International Press Institute (Vienna)
press release

Vienna — The IPI World Congress and 54th General Assembly will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 21-24 May 2005 - the third time, after 1968 and 1981, that IPI will hold its annual general meeting in Kenya, and its fifth on the African continent.

The four-day event will discuss current issues related to the challenges facing Africa and the world, as well as topics dealing with press freedom and the communications industry. Sessions focusing on African topics include:

- "Pluralism and Democracy - The African Experience"

- "Africa's Development - Attracting Investment"

- "Reporting on Africa"

- "Press Freedom Issues/Africa"

Main speakers include:

* Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya, whose victory in the December 2002 elections marked the end of Daniel arap Moi's 24-year reign and almost 40 years of uninterrupted rule by the Kenya African National Union (KANU).

* Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, who claimed a landslide victory in the first presidential elections since the 1994 genocide. Under Kagame, Rwanda has experienced relative stability.

* His Highness The Aga Khan, the spiritual leader and imam of the Ismaili Muslims. The Aga Khan has devoted substantial resources to development projects around the world, primarily in Asia and East Africa.

* Wangari Maathai, Kenyan ecologist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The founder of the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organisation aimed at curtailing deforestation in Africa, Maathai is the first African woman to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

* Wole Soyinka, Nigerian writer, political activist and 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature. The author of over 40 works, including plays, poems, novels and autobiographies, Soyinka was the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

* Wiseman Nkuhlu, Chairman of the NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) Secretariat in Johannesburg, South Africa. Initiated by several African leaders, the main objective of NEPAD is "to give impetus to the continent's development by bridging existing gaps between Africa and the developed world."

The full Congress programme, as well as registration details, can be found on the official Congress Website: www.ipikenya.com.

For inquiries, please contact: Christiane Klint Assistant Congress Coordinator International Press Institute (IPI) Spiegelgasse 2/29 A-1010 Vienna, Austria Tel: + 431-512 90 11 Fax: + 431-512 90 14 E-mail: cklint@freemedia.at or ipi@freemedia.at http://www.freemedia.at

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