The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) will on October 27 and 28, 2017 host a media conference and awards ceremony, which will include discussions on challenges to online and offline free expression in West Africa; the rising phenomenon of fake news and its implications for media credibility and trust; the media and violent extremism in West Africa; the Media and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Investigative Journalism; ICTs and Development; and Media Sustainability Models.
The maiden edition of the West Africa Media Excellence Awards, organised to honour journalists from across West Africa whose works have contributed to bringing positive changes to society in the last one year, will hold as a side event after the conference. The awards are intended to inspire and motivate journalism excellence in the West African region.
The event known as the West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA), promises to be the biggest media and free expression event in West Africa.
The event with the theme The Media in West Africa: The Past, Present and the Future is expected to attract the participation of media development and free expression experts and advocates; media owners; editors and journalists; as well as digital rights experts and activists.
The organisers will award journalistic works through a competitive process, the categories for the award will include those on investigative journalism; anti-corruption reporting; SDGs and development reporting; environment reporting; health reporting; peace and security reporting; telecoms and ICT reporting; extractives industry reporting; banking and finance reporting; and small business and SMEs reporting.
Other categories will feature journalistic works on women’s rights and reproductive health; ECOWAS and regional integration; and human rights. Apart from category awards, the overall best journalist will be awarded with the prestigious Best West African Journalist of the Year prize.
Details of the awards and how to apply will be announced soon by the organisers. Journalists from Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone countries in West Africa will be required to submit their works to a panel of judges for evaluation during the application process.
Subsequently, details about the WAMECA event including registration for the conference will be communicated on the MFWA website and the event website.
For partnership on this prestigious event, corporate and other organisations should contact the MFWA by email info@mfwa.org or by telephone +233-3022-4470.
