Virtual Conference on
The 2020 Media Challenge Expo will provide a space to discuss the current state of journalism amidst a pandemic and all its accompanying implications on the media industry. Prior to the pandemic, journalism was already dealing with aggressive authoritarian regimes, trust and credibility as well as a looming economic crisis that raised questions on media viability or sustainability of quality journalism.
The Expo offers expertise on reporting that responds to social problems, and factors everyday people in editorial decisions
We are keeping journalism alive in a period of uncertainty. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Media Challenge Expo has been held online. Register to join the network
We invite media managers and owners to identify talent, and recruit from competing students in the Inter-Institutional Media Challenge
Every year, we assemble captains of industry and aspiring journalists as a way of creating career networks that nurture talent and build professional capacity
Grab your place while they last we have a limited number available
Media managers
Nwali Rahim
Ssebandeke Joseph
One of the most affected sectors by the Covid-19 economic crisis was the media. When lockdowns hit, media houses lost their major sources of revenue - advertising and subscribers - and many closed, laid off staff or cut salaries. This was just the latest blow to the industry, which has suffered with declining sales and revenues for years. In such an environment, how can the media and journalists remain viable to continue their important work of informing the public? Which models are working in Uganda, Africa and internationally to support journalists’ welfare and the business of media, and what are their implications on content and ethics? This session will explore new media revenue generation models, innovations and strategies that are being explored in Uganda and abroad to help the media remain viable. It will also look at new challenges and opportunities to media viability being afforded by the Covid-19 crisis and the world going online.
Njoki Chege
Bill Silcock
Songa Stone
Gerald Businge
Eva Georgia
Joe Kigozi
Nwali Rahim
Ssebandeke Joseph
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the globe, we have all come to learn one key lesson, that now more than ever in the history of global crises, communicators are essential in the fight against COVID-19. A lot of communication has focused on how to stop the spread of the virus, with companies strengthening the WHO and government guidelines in containing the virus. However, there is more to this that communication and public relations professionals should be focusing on right now in the days of COVID-19. Can your communication and PR strategy continue business as usual or do you need to change game? What PR strategies should we be investing in? How are companies preparing and communicating life after COVID19? In an uncertain and viral landscape, any wrong turn can hurt your reputation, as journalists and people on social media are following any public relations mistakes and scandals. It is also important to reflect on how brands continue to build and exist in a pandemic. How can we build brand resilience in times of COVID-19? How should people remember your brand after COVID-19? How can your brand bounce back after a crisis? Can you pivot your brand to help now?
Flavia K Tumusiime
During the Covid-19 ‘infodemic,’ a mass of information, misinformation and disinformation has circulated in our media spaces, sometimes with dangerous impacts. What impacts has this mis/disinformation had in the public? How have journalists dealt with the rise in mis/disinformation in a time when credible and accurate information is most needed? What is the role of fact checking, and how effective have various fact checking platforms been? What is the role of media literacy, and are there examples of various media literacy capacity building programs that have made a difference?
Ibrahim Bbossa
Cayley Clifford,
Dapo Olorunyomi
Sandra kahumuza
Dan Ayebale
Raymond Mpubani
During Covid-19, a mass of information, misinformation and disinformation has circulated in our media spaces, sometimes with dangerous impacts. Fact-checking is one way for journalists to combat this so-called ‘infodemic.’ This session will empower young journalists in fact checking tools and strategies to help them combat the rise of “fake news.” Various fact checking tools will be shared, such as image and video verification, social media account analysis, and other online investigative tools and resources. Participants should learn how to apply elements of fact-checking to their day-to-day reporting as journalists
Eric Mugendi
Media managers
Dan Ayebale
Daniel Lutaya
Raymond Mpubani
Julia Hotz
Dan Ayebale
Walter Mwesigye
Ursher Kulusum
The business of media, dominant cultures, censorship and discrimination inevitably leaves gaps in the way certain topics or groups of people are covered in the media. As revenue has shrunk, media houses have also been forced to close regional offices and lay off specialist reporters, worsening the lack of diversity and inclusion in coverage. This session will look critically at media coverage in Uganda and across Africa, identifying important gaps in reporting. Which topics and groups of people are critically ignored, under-reported or presented through unfair stereotypes, and what are the underlying reasons why? What have been the effects of this type of reporting? What are emerging platforms and examples of journalists in Africa who have covered under-reported stories well, and which lessons can we learn from them?
Caleb Okereke,
Carol Ariba
Carol Beyanga
Kemi Falodun
Ursher Kulusum
In our 21st century digital world, social media is not only used to enhance communication, but is also increasingly becoming the primary source of news for people around the globe. Social media cuts across borders, easily connecting people from different backgrounds and places around shared themes and interests. But on social media where attention spans are fleeting, it is critical for journalists to know how to attract immediate interest and “shareability” on their stories or news updates. Journalists should also know how to avoid creating or spreading “fake news” in an era when news is often broken on social media. This session will empower students with basic knowledge of different social media platforms (including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and strategies for publishing both breaking news updates and attracting attention to longer-term stories on the various platforms. The session will equip participants with top tools and resources to learn how to use social media to amplify their work along with examples of successful social media campaigns. Attendees will also learn the basics of various visualization tools for social media, such as Canva and Crello.
Edwin Danze
Media managers
Andrew Onen
Yvonne Njuna
Worldwide, press freedom is declining and journalists are under attack. Authoritarianism has re-emerged in many societies as the world faces corresponding health, economic and environmental crises, often to the detriment of free speech and information. During the Covid-19 pandemic, journalists have been denied access or information due to the classification of the virus as an issue of national security. Lockdowns have sometimes been used as an excuse to repress journalists and free speech. The corresponding election season has only made the problems worse. How have journalists’ safety and the abuse of media freedoms been affected during this time of crisis? How can media houses and journalists uphold their rights to freedom of speech and information? What role does government, civil society and the general public play?
Jan Ajwang
Robert Sempala
Haruna Kanaabi
Stephen Ouma Bwire
Perez Rumanzi
James Akena
Mordecai Muriisa Martin
Andrew Onen
Yvonne Njuna
Director and Representative, UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa
Country Representative, DW Akademie Uganda
Investigative Journalist NOVA TV, Croatia
Award Winning Investigative Journalist NOVA TV, Croatia
International Journalist and Media Consultant
Africa Editor, Global Investigative Journalism Network
Benon Herbert Oluka is a journalist who started his career with Observer Media moving to Monitor Publications in 2008. He has also contributed as a freelance writer to The Mail, The Guardian and The Africa Report. His work has earned him a number of accolades including Winner of the Akintola Fatoyinbo Africa Education Journalist Award 2008, Winner of the Uganda Investigative Journalism Awards in 2007 and the Golden Pen Journalism Awards in the same year.
Humphrey Program Curator Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Arizona
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Uganda Radio Network Data Journalist
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Head of Public and International Relations Uganda Communications Commission
Ibrahim Bbossa is the Head Public and International Relations at the Uganda Communications Commission, the Communications Regulator in Uganda. He has been at the Commission for Eight years now, and before this appointment, he headed the Consumer Affairs division of the Commission spearheading Consumer protection and empowerment.
He’s an experienced marketing professional and a member of the Charted Institute of Marketing in the United Kingdom. In addition to a Masters in Communications Management (University of Rwanda), Ibrahim holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Studies from the Islamic University in Uganda, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing studying at the London School of Marketing.
Assignments in consumer protection, education and empowerment have exposed him to intricate aspects of telecommunications, broadcasting and audio-visual content, and enabling him to contribute to the enhancement of regulatory tools in complaints handling and redress mechanisms in the communications sector. Recently he is focusing on concerns around Media Freedom and Freedom of Express.
Founder, Cards
World is committed to making participation in the event a harass ment free experience for everyone, regardless of level experience gender, gender identity and expression
Director, African Initiative for Investigative Journalism
Solomon Serwanjja is a Ugandan investigative journalist and news anchor with NBSTV. In 2019 Serwanjja was awarded the Komla Dumor Award, an annual award given by the BBC to celebrate African journalists
Africa Check Fact-Checker
World is committed to making participation in the event a harass ment free experience for everyone, regardless of level experience gender, gender identity and expression
Aga Khan University Innovation Center Director
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Director, Uganda Human Rights Network for Journalists
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General Secretary of the Uganda Journalists Union
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