Greetings, friends:
We’re officially in the final countdown to Africa Media Festival 2025, and while the main program is packed with sharp, necessary conversations, I want to take a moment to highlight something equally important: the side events.
The side events are not sideshows or distractions—these are spaces to connect, think, and experience AMF in a different way. Sometimes, the best things happen outside the panel discussions and workshops —over a shared meal, on a forest trail, or in a creative deep dive. So here’s what’s in store:
📖 Writing Masterclass with Kiprop Kimutai (Open to the public)
📅 Tuesday, 25th Feb | 9:00am – 12:00pm
📍 Baraza Media Lab
💰 $8 or KES1,000 | RSVP here
A good story isn’t just about what you say—it’s how you say it. This 3-hour masterclass will dive into close readings of celebrated writers, with writing exercises designed to help you refine your voice. Whether you’re working on a novel, an essay, or a longform article, this session will sharpen your craft.
🌿 Cinema in Nature & Lunch (For AMF ticket holders only)
📅 Tuesday, 25th Feb | 9:00am – 1:00pm
📍 Karura Forest
💰 $10-12 or KES 1,200-1,750 | RSVP here
A chance to slow down before the festival whirlwind begins. This gentle hike blends forest trails, history, and storytelling, taking us deep into Karura Forest and the legacy of the Mau Mau movement in that location. Think of it as a reset button before we dive into two intense days of AMF.
🔬 Research Slam (For AMF ticket holders only)
📅 Wednesday, 26th Feb | 1:15 – 2:15pm (Lunch at the Amphitheatre, Museum Grounds)
🚀 No registration required for AMF attendees—just show up!
There’s what we know about African media. And then there’s what we don’t know—the research gaps holding back innovation, equity, and sustainability. This fast-paced session invites participants to pitch the “known unknowns”—the big, unanswered questions in media and the creative economy.
🎤 Want to pitch a research gap you’re seeing? Email chris@barazalab.com by Monday, 24th Feb to secure a 3-minute slot.
💡 What comes out of this? A crowdsourced research agenda, new connections, and a post-AMF blog synthesizing key insights.
So, whether you’re diving into creative writing, walking through history, or mapping out the future of media research, these side events are your chance to connect in a different way and pace. See you there.
In the meantime, here’s:
What I’m Reading: To Break the Story, You Must Break the Status Quo by Rebecca Solnit, who has a very insightful and fresh perspective on ‘breaking a story’ which is a line journalists use to mean getting a scoop, or being the first to tell something. For Solnit, it’s more than that – sometimes it is “to break open or break apart..the stories that are already written”, in other words, to challenge the dominant narratives.
What I’m Watching: The wild story of Belle Gibson as told in the Netflix documentary Apple Cider Vinegar. Yes, I’ve known some liars in my life as I’m sure we all have, but this is a whole other level.
What I’m Listening to: I’m relistening to America’s Empire State of Mind, a January episode of the On The Media podcast by WNYC studios. There were so many mind-blowing moments on this exploration of U.S. imperialism around the world.
My best,
Christine Mungai
Curator | Baraza Media Lab