Rhodes University is once again hosting the Highway Africa conference, “the largest annual gathering of African journalists in the world, which represents a direct benefit of R5 million to the local economy,” according to conference director Chris Kabwato.
Rhodes University is once again hosting the Highway Africa conference, “the largest annual gathering of African journalists in the world, which represents a direct benefit of R5 million to the local economy,” according to conference director Chris Kabwato.
The conference started in 1997 with the advent of the Internet. Its goal was to understand how the Internet would change the practice of journalism. Now, the conference aims at bringing African journalists together and creating a discussion and training in the use of new media technologies, but also to question the role of journalism as a whole.
Each year the conference focuses on a particular theme. This year journalists will be looking at reporting Africa and particularly in the context of the upcoming Soccer World Cup. During three days of panel presentations, seminars and workshops, journalists will focus on how the World Cup story should be told. Is it only sport or are there political and economic question that should be brought up? They will also address the question of how to report development and democracy – particularly: how to cover elections.
“This event, along with Scifest and the National Art festival, brings Grahamstown in the spotlight as being a centre of intellectual and cultural reflections,” Kabwato said.
Besides the economic factor, it seems like the event is quite disconnected from the community although Kabwato claried that there were several points at which the conference and town interact. When asked if Grahamstonians could attend the meetings, Kabwato said that ”it’s is an encounter between professional of the media and we would like to keep it that way."
