Public Service Broadcasting in Africa: Continuity and Change in the 21st Century (Mar 2 2013)

Organised by Communication and Media Research Institute, University of Westminster, with support from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and BBC Media Action, this one day training will bring together students, researchers, academics, practitioners, policymakers, and thinkers to look ahead and identify how public service broadcasting in Africa can be helped to survive and develop in the years ahead. According to the organisers, public Service radio is still strong in countries such as South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Nigeria, and Kenya but in others, it has evolved into commercial models, with little informational content. In many parts of Africa, state broadcasters still have public service broadcasting aspirations, but the reality is all too often government control. Nonetheless, the need for trusted information about national and local developments is as crucial as ever, as is the need for programming to celebrate national cultures, explain social change projects, and to offer relevant, quality entertainment for all ages and ethnic groups. Among all these reasons, new thinking on public service broadcasting in Africa is urgently needed.
The themes explored in the one-day workshop are likely to include:

• The concept of public service broadcasting in a changing Africa
• New funding models for public service broadcasting in Africa
• Public service broadcasting and censorship in Africa
• Public service broadcasting funding models in Africa and sustainability
• Audiences for public service broadcasting in Africa
• Political pressures on public service broadcasting news in Africa
• Regulation of public service broadcasting in Africa
• New formats for Public service broadcasting in Africa
• Young African audiences, new ICTs and public service broadcasting
• Politics of managing public service broadcasting stations in Africa
• Alternative models to public service broadcasting in Africa
• Political, social and cultural roles of public broadcasting in Africa

Click here for more information about the workshop.
Registration information:
Deadline for abstract submission: January 24 2013 The University of Westminster is inviting students, researchers, academics, practitioners, policymakers and thinkers to send a 300-word abstract by January 24, 2013. Applicants must include the presenter's name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with the paper’s title and send abstracts to Helen Cohen at journalism@westminster.ac.uk
The fee for registration (which applies to all participants, including presenters) will be £99, with a concessionary rate of £49 for students, to cover all conference documentation, refreshments, lunch, and administration costs.