Africa Media Festival Perspectives
Live from Nairobi – Shaping Africa’s Future in Media
There was an inimitable vibrance pulsing around the 2024 Africa Media Festival in Nairobi, with storytellers, creators, and innovators from across the continent converging to share ideas, celebrate innovation, and explore the ever-evolving landscape of African media.
All these voices in one location offered up an incredibly rare and precious opportunity: From established voices to rising stars, from practised practitioners to nascent changemakers, we sought to capture a glimpse of the experiences through the eyes and voices of those who were there. In this series, we’ll share the interviews of attendees and speakers, diving into the diversity of perspectives on the themes, the workshops, and the sentiments coursing through the festival.
It has been, quite frankly, a thing of wonder. Passion, ingenuity, determination, hope… Each interview is a thread woven into the rich, shared tapestry that is the unwavering commitment to amplifying Africa’s narratives in a way that’s true to the continent and its peoples.
So join us as we delve into the heart of the 2024 Africa Media Festival, through your perspectives, one voice at a time.
AMF Attendees
My name is Rishad and I am one of two co-founders of Splice Media. It’s a little media organization in Singapore and we help media entrepreneurs around the world achieve viability.
Now given what you do I’m pretty sure that there are multiple things that are calling to your attention at this exact moment. And yet you have chosen to be here. Why?
I’ve chosen to be here because I couldn’t think of a better place where I could learn more about what I do, which is work with media startup founders and creators and journalists and try to help them make money. That’s basically what I do and I cannot think of a better place to learn how to do that.
And that’s why I’m here and I’m learning more than my brain can handle right now. (smiles)
Of the conversations that you have witnessed, experienced, been involved in, is there one that you’ll reflect on that a little bit more?
I met Jennifer Kaberi of Mtoto News at a media founders breakfast that I ran yesterday morning. She was telling me the story of her organisation which is for kids to find their voices and their community and their stories. And it’s not something that I’ve worked with before but it’s something that I’ve thought about before. Talking to Jennifer allowed me to start to investigate that part of my mind I hadn’t used for a while.
And then I went to her session and I’m trying to interrogate all these questions that I have. For once, I didn’t have answers for her immediately, but now I’m excited that I now have a strategy for her. So my next meeting – hopefully at the end of today – is with her because I want to go back over it again and talk about this new strategy and see if she likes it.
That’s what’s exciting me right now. And that’s something that’s giving me a reason to be here right this minute.
I’m making this personal: Are there moments when you wake up in the morning and think to yourself, “What the hell is this path that I decided to embark on?”
With work?
Yes.
Never.
We’ve done Splice for about nine years now. And I’m always scared to say that it’s never happened. It may happen about other things in my life, but weirdly, working with journalists, trying to build products, trying to design, trying to build business strategy, product strategy, exploring how we make this thing work with our users… Weirdly that has never ever happened.
It’s a mystery.
`As captured by Marcus Olang`
My name is June Gachui. I am an advocate of the high court. I specialise in intellectual property and entertainment law. I am also a performing artist, singer-songwriter, radio show host, media personality. Just a happy Kenyan chick trying to do some good stuff out here.
This is your second year hosting this festival. Why did you come back?
I came back because I believe in the mission behind the conversations that the Africa Media Festival are trying to curate and create a platform for.
I have curated several things in my lifetime. I understand how hard it is to get great ideas off the ground, to get support and partners, to believe in the vision. I recently joined the media fraternity, barely three years ago. Last week, actually, I joined Capital FM as a radio show host. This was a medium that I wasn’t really practising in until COVID. That was an added reason, I think, for me to learn, appreciate the space I’ve just recently joined.
Also, I think Njugush is such a hottie. Oh my God! I really have a lot of respect for his art form and for his intelligence. I think he’s a brilliant individual. It takes a lot to be able to make that number of people laugh consistently and from their gut, from their belly. That was also a very easy ‘Yes’ because I knew he would be my co-host.
And just also the chance to meet so many amazing people from across the continent, across the world.
I mean, I could go on, but those were the major ones.
In the course of this year’s edition, between your hosting duties, some of the conversations that you’ve had… has there been something or some things that have left you thinking, “I think I may want to go and give that a little more thought”?
I definitely think of a couple of conversations.
We’ve had different formats over the course of the two years. The panel discussions were very much people telling you what they knew. And so those are experts in their fields, so there was a lot to glean from them.
Did I agree with all their opinions? No.
I think the phrase that was used this week, during this year’s festival, was “happy conflict” – it’s okay to disagree because that’s what creates conversation, discourse, dialogue. So I definitely think there were certain things that I’m like, “I don’t know if I agree with that”.
Today there was a conversation about Afri-ethics, for example.
And I was like, “What the heck is that?” So it’s ethics from an African perspective, as opposed to what we have been fed from a Western cultural point of view. Because a lot of these things were inherited. We do not ignore or sweep under the carpet our colonial history. And I wonder if I’m as affected as the next person.
I think that was a thing that happened in my mind today. And I went, “Okay, yeah.”
So are we saying we have a problem with it? Are we saying we need to fix it? Are we trying to create something that really isn’t there and isn’t necessary? Or what is the real problem?
So I think a lot of the conversations have left me thinking, and even in my role as MC, it wasn’t just, “Oh, the next speaker is Marcus Olang’.” I was actually very, very much involved in the conversation around having my own opinion and being able to express what that was.
The other thing for me was just something that inspired me to think about maybe starting a podcast. It’s a conversation I have had with a lot of people who want me to start podcasts. And I’ve been a bit averse because I thought it was just a fad. Everybody was starting a podcast. I wasn’t sure if I had a perspective, an angle, a June way of speaking or thinking. So I thought, “But why would I bother doing it?”
Now I’m like, “I’ve got some stuff to say.”
And this year’s AMF had very specific tips. There was a podcast toolkit, that allows you to have your list of to-dos and not-to-dos. Plus, how to monetize and how to make cash and who are the partners. So definitely it’s triggered some things in a good way and in a bad way as well.
I heard you used that phrase “happy conflict.” How did you come up with that?
I wish I could say it was me who dreamt it up. I didn’t.
It was in our script actually – one of the house rules that we were asked to set at the beginning of the festival, just to allow people to have a spirit of openness, a spirit of sharing, knowledge sharing, and freeness.
And there it was: “Happy conflict.”
And I thought, “I really like this phrase.”
Because I always say this to people I speak to. “You don’t have to agree with me. I don’t even have to like what you’re saying, but I have to respect that you have a different opinion.”
And how much more have I experienced that since I joined the media? There are people I’ve interviewed and my face reacts before they’re even done. Then I realise, “Ah, they have a right to say.”
So I have to find a peaceful, objective place to then let them know I don’t agree, but hey, it’s a perspective.
So I liked the phrase when I saw it, but I can’t take credit for that. I think that was all, Chris. (Chris Mungai)
I think we are adopting it.
Final one. What is June looking forward to?
June has a lot of hopes and dreams.
This year, I want to disturb everybody with my greatness. I feel like I’ve been a little timid. It may not appear that way, but I definitely feel I’ve been playing small.
I don’t know what happened. I just sort of clicked last year and I felt I worked so hard to create some of these things that I work on. I dream about them. They keep me up at night. And I wonder, “How can I do them better? How can I create better experiences?”
I have a huge passion for the creative space and the live performance space. And so for me, that’s been my pain point: How do we make that more consistently available to the young artists coming up, to those who are already established?
That’s what I want to be able to achieve this year. Just kick ass.
How I love to say that: Kick ass with doing things excellently, demanding excellence of everybody who’s in my team and who I work with. And just pushing guys to that next level. Because I think it’s definitely possible. It’s definitely possible. And that’s what I’d like to look forward to and challenge myself to work harder.
So if I’ve written to you for sponsorship and you haven’t responded to me, you just come and call me later and follow us. Because we’re going. As Kenyans like to say in 2023, “We go going.”
That’s what June’s looking forward to – she’s going to go going.
`As captured by Marcus Olang`
My name is Molly Jensen, and I’m the CEO of Afripods.
You are actively involved in the media space. And I know there are very many other things that are calling for your attention right now, and yet you have elected to be here. Why?
I think it’s important to support industry-building as well as ecosystem-building, and frankly, there isn’t anywhere that I can imagine that’s more important than being here. Africa is this incredibly vibrant market, and this is the second media festival. There’s literally 500-plus people here, and so I couldn’t really imagine another place that I could be, if I’m being honest with you.
What are you excited about in terms of your view of the future of media?
I’m really excited to see the creativity that’s gonna come out, not just on the continent but globally. I do think that the media on the continent is gonna have a lot more visibility just due to the fact that things are more accessible digitally, and I’m really excited to see how that translates into audience viewership. I’m excited to see how that translates into advertising opportunities. I’m excited to see how that translates into vernacular opportunities, and I’m just excited to witness greatness.
I think there’s just, there’s so much, and I’m privileged to be the smallest part of it.
Are there particular sessions that you’re looking forward to or have been involved in that you have been thrilled to have been a part of so far?
I’m definitely excited for the Afripods panel on monetization. I’m excited that I’m not speaking, frankly, because I think that it’s exciting to see my team take up a space. I think it’s exciting to sit back and be just a witness, and I think that for what it’s worth, in the last couple of hours today, I’ve had a chance to do interviews on the MCI (Media Challenge Initiative) bus, so that’s really taken a majority of my day.
I met a bunch of people on the Matatu tour, and it was exciting to see some of them take up space in their workshops.
So I can’t say I’m excited for one thing over another.
I’m excited to see the growth for Baraza. I’m excited to see the attendees, and I’m excited to be a witness of it. Being at the beginning of something is such a privilege, and we get to witness this. We get to build it together.
As the person that essentially holds the vision for Afripods, are there bits of the current evolution of media that make you feel, ooh, that’s a bit scary?
(laughs) – I mean, everyone and anyone has a voice, and that’s such a beautiful thing, ’cause everyone has a story, but on the same side, anyone and everyone has a voice, and a platform, and an audience, and it’s not about having opposing views.
It’s about the moderation of the content. That actually does make me a little concerned. Like, how are we going to moderate this content? How are we going to make sure that it’s not, you know, radicalising people? How are we going to make sure that it’s not exploiting people? How are we going to make sure that we’re fact-checking information? How are we going to make sure that the content is safe?
And I think a lot of that has to do with community policing, but I’m not exactly sure how you do that, you know?
In terms of the people that you interact with and the team that you have built around you, is there a sense of optimism about where things are going?
Of course.
I mean, first and foremost, I’m privileged to work with incredible people. They are vibrant, they’re dynamic, they’re creative, they think differently, they’re opinionated, they’re well-researched, they’re credible. I’m delighted and honoured to stand beside everyone and learn constantly.
I think that when we talk about optimism and the opportunity on the continent, I couldn’t be more ready to go. Like, no one is actually ready, right? We’re all going to figure out how we get there. We’re all going to bump into a massive problem and it’s going to create an opportunity for us to come up with a massive solution. Because, sometimes, having a problem is the best thing you can have.
So I am very optimistic that the problem’s coming our way, that there are African creatives, executives, leaders, media people, different verticals that can help either solve the problem, create avenues to disperse the problem, to platform the solution. I think all of that is going to be very, very exciting and I’m optimistic that we’re going to see all of that all across this continent in multiple languages and with up-and-coming journalists and media people.
`As captured by Marcus Olang`
My name is Eric Mugendi.I am a journalism trainer and fact checker and currently freelancing in that space.
What excites you about the future?
I would say just the potential for media to amplify the voices of people. Just the fact that there’s a lot of stories that are being told now that weren’t previously being told, and then also the fact that there’s so many new voices that are being amplified as well.
There’s also just the fact that people are coming onto a lot of these media platforms and making them their own, which is, in a way, really enriching us as society, because people who previously didn’t have a way to express themselves are now able to do it quite freely now.
In the course of your work, what are a couple of standout things that you’ve seen in terms of how different demographics interact with either platforms or the nature of information itself?
I would say there’s almost an implicit trust for older people in the stuff that they consume, which is why they are one of the populations at risk of being manipulated and being misinformed, because they assume that everything they see with something attached to it saying this is from this particular media house or publication is true. So they believe it – they have this implicit trust in those things.
And then for younger people there’s a certain scepticism. These are people who’ve grown up in a context of cynicism. So looking at how all the promises that were there were essentially broken for a lot of millennials and gen x, they tend to believe it less. Look at, for instance, things that come from the government. Because they have this relationship with the government where they view them almost as an oppressor.
Then there’s the even younger audiences – gen z and younger millennials. There’s this whole idea that as long as they can get onto these platforms and express themselves, they have this tendency to just get onto these spaces and make them their own in a really interesting way. So they’re able to, because these are people who’ve grown up knowing the internet and they’ve been able to use it in very interesting and very fantastic ways.
So it’s very interesting looking at how different generations interact with information.
Even when you look at the platforms: you find older people on Facebook, and younger people on sites like TikTok and Snapchat and all these other newer apps. And because of that there’s something that resembles a caste system in effect: You find the older you are the more likely you are to be on Facebook, then on TikTok, you find people are coming to this realisation that the society is made up of people with lots of different talents, different abilities, with this deep desire for inclusivity which is really interesting. And because of all this, the platforms are really tailor made to enable them to express themselves in very interesting and very unconventional ways.
To turn to something that you just mentioned around the idea of trusting information, especially given the context of your work: The last year has involved a lot of acceleration, almost mind-blowing acceleration in tech. Specifically generative AI. What does that mean for your work?
It’s going to be a lot more difficult, because these tools become better at creating videos and creating images. And the thing that I think is going to save us is the fact that they don’t have enough local examples to use as a basis for creating locally relevant content.
But at the same time these tools are really powerful, which means that there’s a lot more need for the type of vigilance or the type of awareness of context, as well as awareness of the intention of the person creating these things. Because there are a lot of bad actors who can take advantage of the way this information is circulating to push their own narratives.
So it’s going to be a lot more difficult.
Then again, one of the things that I’ve learned just from my time doing things like verification and fact-checking is that eventually, there are going to be tools that we can use to detect these things. But I think the fact that they’re developing the models and the ways to create this content faster than we’re able to actually detect them and debunk them means there’s going to be this period where it’s going to be really difficult to figure out what is actually authentic and what isn’t.
Does that excite you or terrify you?
I’m terrified. I’m genuinely terrified.
At the same time, though, the fact is that it’s going to create opportunities for people to come into this space to verify this type of information. So there’s hope, but also there’s a lot of fear.
`As captured by Marcus Olang`
My name is Gathoni, I am the Community Manager at AfriPods, but I’m also a podcaster and my podcast title is “Okay Kiasi”.
This is not your first Africa Media Festival, is it?
It’s the second. Today I was actually doing a workshop, that might be the primary reason I was here today. But I’ve seen a lot of things on storytelling on the schedule, and that was what was for me very interesting. I’m a pro storyteller, I feel like we need to tell our stories on our own terms, and it just excites me when we’re able to be taught how to do it.
You had a session today as well? How was that?
It was really exciting to hear the feedback. I’ve heard a lot of people saying it was great; a lot of people saying it was very interactive, which for me gives me joy.
You know, the thing is, when you’re doing something that you know about, I think you can take it for granted. And so when people understood the assignment, or understood what you were trying to get at, it’s like, “Okay, it’s fine, I did well.”
So I think I did good. Yeah, I’m excited.
From your perspective, what do you think the future of media carries for us?
I think it carries ownership. Because I feel like for a long time, Africa has been told who we are. Our story has been told to us, and our history has been told to us. And the thing I like about what media is doing now, the direction it’s going, especially with digitising, is it’s allowing us a space to put our voices in and kind of determine what the narrative is.
So you can no longer come and say, “Oh, it’s the poor girl who doesn’t have water.”
I’m not denying that that is a part of what our experiences as Africans, but it’s also us being at the media festival, and being able to have technology, talking about AI, I need that part of it to also be spoken about and celebrated.
Of everything you’ve been involved in, that you’ve interacted with, the sessions, the people, has there been something that you’ve come across that you thought to yourself, “Let’s go think about that a bit more”?
The thing that stuck with me the most is yesterday, Rishad said, “Niche is not small, it’s specific.”
And for a long time I hadn’t thought about it that way. Because when you think of niche, you already think of it as being specific, but the idea that even in a niche, there’s more niche that you can get into, I think that’s the thing for me that’s just like, “Oh, that’s my one takeaway. Oh my God, this is a thing.”
I’ll be thinking about that one for a while.
Anything you’re excited about in terms of your line of work in the near future?
I’m excited to see what AI does for us. I’m hearing good news about transcribing, especially in local languages. So I’m like, “Can someone please hurry that up?”
Today at my session, there was someone trying to figure out how we can include the people who are differently-abled. Trying to involve them in podcasting, what that looks like, being able to explore that and research on that and make it happen, for me, gives me excitement.
`As captured by Marcus Olang`
Mungo Soggot, and I’m the CEO and founder of Scrolla.Africa.
There’s plenty that would be calling for your attention right now. But you’ve elected to be here. Why?
This is a really pivotal event in the African media calendar. I couldn’t come last year, and this year was an amazing opportunity to be here. I mean, some of the best thinkers in African media are here from across the continent. It gives one the opportunity to connect with people one hasn’t met, but also an amazing opportunity to meet new people.
And then just the way the conference is structured is incredibly energising. I mean, it touches on a lot of the challenges which are facing news organisations on the continent. But just hearing it articulated by such a range of people is, yeah, it’s incredibly useful.
Are there bits of conversation that you’ve been involved in that had you thinking, “That’s an interesting perspective”?
I suspect you’ve had a lot of people saying this, but the AI discussion is pretty central. And it’s something we’ve been very absorbed in for the past year.
But there’s been a couple of conversations, people who’ve given me ideas for things we can do on the production side. Really, really, really useful tips and ideas. And just watching how a lot of newsrooms in Africa are embracing technology, in some instances with more enthusiasm than is happening kind of elsewhere in the world.
In your experience, and whether it’s through interactions during the festival, or even in your line of work as it stands at the moment, do we have grounds for optimism as to what the future portends?
I touched on it in my Ignite Talk yesterday. I think the media industry is kind of undergoing multiple revolutions at the same time. Obviously, we all know that the commercial models are really stretched and really difficult – that was made abundantly clear in this discussion.
Then there’s the kind of parallel revolution of what AI is doing, both to how any company in the world is run, but also specifically how people are involved in writing, as well as any business which is involved in writing. I think the turbocharged language learning model of revolution – plus the revenue model revolution – is a lot to deal with.
I do think longer term that, once one adjusts, there’s going to be a lot of reshuffling of the board.
Once one gets through those two, the green shoots will be there. But a lot of companies are doing a brilliant job already. And yeah, it’s one of those shakeups everyone’s got to go through.
I’ll make this one personal: as the vision bearer of the company, there are, I’m very sure, as happens with many people, there are moments and mornings when you wake up and you think to yourself, I don’t feel like it anymore. How do you keep it going?
This is actually a good question.
During one of the sessions yesterday, Bilal Randeree from MDIF (Media Development Investment Fund) was talking about the need for grit and resilience. And yeah, he’s right. There’s a lot of balls to juggle and you’ve got to hold a vision and keep the team energised.
There’s never a single moment – but there are some moments when it’s harder than others.
But just the kind of joy of being involved in something which is working, which is having an impact, it’s a lot of that to keep you going. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
If you don’t mind my asking, when I was putting that to you, your mind seemed to have flashed back to a particular moment in time.
You’re right in that. I sometimes liken it to – well, there are lots of scenarios, but – having a lot of incoming missiles. And it can relate to anything you do with the immediate challenges of that day – whether it’s to do with reporting or revenue or the commercial direction of the company.
And there are moments when you’re dealing with one problem and before you’re even done with the impact of one, another comes in; but I think the key is to learn that the missiles come and your job is to deal with them, and to teach oneself to focus on the absolutely key things and to learn to accommodate those unexpected events.
`As captured by Marcus Olang`
My name is Polly Wachira and I’m the Head of Campaigns and Community at the Thellesi Trust, an organisation that deals with young people here in Kenya to promote youth participation in sustainable development. We do this through civic education and also by making sure that we have platforms in place for these young people to be able to express themselves.
Made through creativity, through storytelling and everything else.
So, we can all achieve the sustainable goals and accelerate the achievement by 2030.
You could be anywhere else right now, but you’ve elected to be here.
I am here at the Africa Media Festival 2024. First of all, because I missed the one that happened last year. And some of the hours following the conversations online and they were really, really nice. And someone else from the organisation was here and they kept talking about it.
So, it is an opportunity for me today. It’s an opportunity to network and meet other like-minded people who are doing the same thing, an opportunity to experience and also learn from people from other areas. What are they doing? What’s working? What’s not working?
So, borrowing ideas from them.
And also to contribute in small ways and my lived experiences of the work that I have done to the conversation, the bigger conversation that we are having about media.
And so, what excites you about what’s next in media?
I am very glad you brought that up.
We’ve had this difficulty in trying to transition from the traditional kind of reporting and media where if you have to pass a policy or talk about anything, it has to be through paper. But we are seeing the internet, for example, taking a very small hashtag like #freewomen or #metoo and taking it out there. And this thing is becoming a whole movement where people are contributing to meaningful conversations and making change and contributing to policy making and all these things.
So, I’m excited that anyone from a very remote area or from an urban place can take their phone, for example, record something that’s happening around them and contribute to the conversation. Part of the work that we do is to empower rural creatives to be able to tell their stories because we believe your stories are better told by yourself.
No one is going to come to Kilifi County, for example, where I’m from and tell my stories better than I can. So, it’s very exciting for me to see that people from rural areas, photographers are doing storytelling, are having photos and telling a story about places where they are from; to see someone somewhere picking up a phone and picking up their camera and saying, “This is how women and children in my village are living.”
It’s exciting to see media and people reporting and using their small gadgets to report about things that are happening in their environment. I’m excited about that and what it can do for numbers, for statistics, for change, for policies and everything so that we can all live a better life.
Out of what has already happened and some of the sessions that are coming up, is there anything that you’re particularly looking forward to?
I am looking forward to seeing how these conversations can be taken to rural places and how rural creatives can also be a part of these conversations, so they can understand the kind of role that they play in the society and how they can make sure that they are contributing to the bigger conversations and also helping shape conversations and create policies and helping the people around them.
So, if, for example, you’re a photographer, it’s not just about taking a photo. What else, how else can you use that skill to tell your story? If you are a podcaster, how do you use that to tell the stories of where you’re from and shape how policies are made for you and to work for you?
`As captured by Marcus Olang`
