By Emmanuel Oti Acheampong
The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has officially inaugurated the Local Organising Committee of the African Media Convention on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, in Accra, as Ghana looks forward to hosting the third edition.
The Committee is Co-Chaired by the President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfuor, and the Deputy Minister of Information, Fatimatu Abubakar.
Other members include Linda Asante Adjei, Vice President, Ghana Journalists Association; and Rebecca Ekpe, Public Affairs Officer, Ghana Journalists Association.
In his inaugural speech, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, congratulated the Ghana Journalists Association for their assiduous fight towards winning the bid to host the third edition of the Africa Media Convention.
He said the hosting of the third Africa Media Convention is a testament to Ghana’s deepening record as ”one of Africa’s fast growing conference destinations”. He mentioned that the convention will focus on how to collaborate and deepen content creation designed to positively program Africa’s Gen Zs. He urged state bodies like the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) to take advantage of the platform to expand opportunities for Ghana.
GJA President, Mr. Albert Dwumfour, said the GJA, an affiliate of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) and its parent body, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), won the bid to host the Third African Media Convention in Accra, Ghana, in May 2024.
The successful bid of the GJA to host the next convention was announced during the Second Africa Media Convention, which was held in Lusaka, Zambia, from May 11–13, 2023.
He said, ”the African Media Convention is currently the largest gathering of media stakeholders and policymakers on the continent.”
The Convention, an initiative of The African Editors’ Forum (TAEF), is designed to safeguard the hard-won media freedoms and safety of journalists on the continent, enumerating the numerous benefits the African Media Convention will bring to Ghana.
In his remarks, the Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Professor Amin Alhassan, commended the Minister of Information and President of the Ghana Journalists Association for the tremendous development they both have brought to their respective oversight entities.
He said, ”the Ghanaian story has not been told enough” and emphasised that the media Convention is used as an opportunity to project the Ghanaian story. He called on the Local Organising Committee to use the opportunity of hosting the convention to create space for the public media to reflect on the future of public media in Africa.
There were solidarity messages from partners.
The 3rd African Media Convention is under the auspices of the African Union and UNESCO, among others.
Find below the list of members of the Local Organising Committee of the 3rd African Media Convention (AMC-LOC).
1. Hon. Fatimatou Abubakar -Ministry of Information Deputy Minister -Co-Chair
2. Kweku Obeng Adjei-Ministry of Information, Media Relations Manager
3. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour- President, Ghana Journalists Association – Co-Chair
4. Linda Asante Agyei- Ghana Journalists Association, Vice President
5. Rebecca Ekpe – Ghana Journalists Association, Public Affairs Officer
6. Hamid Abdul Yakub – UNESCO Ghana
7. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
8. Obed-Edom Yao Bedzra, Ministry of National Security.
9. John Ekow Mensah-State Protocol Department, Deputy Chief State Protocol Officer
10. Representative, Ghana Police Service
11. Representative, Ghana Immigration Service
12. Kwame Adu-Mante, Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association
13. Jeorge Wilson Kingson -Private Newspapers & Online News Publishers Association of Ghana Acting Executive Secretary
14. Muheeb Saeed-Media Foundation for West Africa, Programme Manager, Freedom of Expression
15. Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho-Association of Women in the Media.
16. Representative, Editors Forum Ghana.
17. Alexander Bannerman- National Media Commission, Deputy Executive Secretary.
