We, owners of African media organizations in Africa, met in Dakar, Sénégal on November 3-4, 2008, to discuss the state of media in Africa, and media's relationship to development in Africa;
Cognizant that the continent has been undergoing rapid political, economic, social and cultural change and that these transformational forces present challenges and new opportunities for significantly improving the living standards of the African people;
Convinced that these developments have spawned strong demand for information, new knowledge, ideas, and innovation;
Aware that as a result, African media industries have grown exponentially over the past two decades, driven by the opening up of political systems and democratization, technological innovation, economic growth, and the need for cultural affirmation;
Conscious of the need for us African media leaders to work together to improve the enabling economic environment for media industries in order to ensure their growth and strengthen their competencies, and improve skills and knowledge of media professionals;
Determined to address these issues by strengthening our collaboration, sharing experiences and content and sound management, and identifying opportunities for growing our businesses in order to support Africa's development;
Call on the global investor community and financial institutions, banks and national, regional and international organizations to recognize the African media industries as profitable investment opportunities;
Urge Africa's development partners to take into account the role of media in all aspects of development programs and projects, and encourage them to adopt a more coordinated and synergistic engagement with the media;
Invite African governments, the African Union Commission, and regional African organizations to take proactive steps in creating conditions conducive for promoting media as partners for achieving sustainable development on the African continent;
Agreed, as media owners, to reach a consensus on formulating an AMLF Charter;
Underscored the importance of swift establishment of the African Media Initiative (AMI) as a permanent corporate entity in Africa to support the activities of AMLF and serve as a resource for media development across the continent;
Concluded that there is immense value in this type of interaction, and confirm our intention to meet annually, together with our partners, to review progress, agree on time-bound targets, and chart next steps for strengthening the media's role in Africa's development, and
Accept the proposal to organize the Second Forum in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009.
