Webinar for Africa’s media heavyweights tomorrow

The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) secretariat in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is organising a media webinar tomorrow to help discuss and unpack issues that are pertinent to the realisation of the AfCFTA’s single market focus, the collective ownership by the people of Africa. 

It comes ahead of the high-profile Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD), a bouquet of networking, conferences and exhibitions, to be held in Ghana from January 25 to 27, next year.

Tomorrow’s webinar, which takes place from 2 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. (GMT), will feature some of Africa’s media heavyweights, including Ferial Haffajee, Joel Kibazo, Charles Onyango-Obbo, Andrew Mwenda, Mariama Sy Ba, Audrey Gadzekpo, Samuel Atta-Mensah, Elizabeth Ohene, David Ndii, Noo Saro-Wiwa and Dele Momodu.

Webinar

It will be on the theme, “What Do You Know about the AfCFTA ― and Why Should the Media Care”?

The discussion will examine the media’s role in mobilising mass engagement and participation with the AfCFTA and the opportunities opened up by it, especially as it is of immense benefit for the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa and Global Africa (the sixth region of Africa).

This high-powered webinar will discuss ways of internalising and normalising the unfolding reality of facilitating the free movement of people, goods and services among Africa’s 1.4 billion people.

It is also to prompt both AfCFTA actors and influential media players to do more to persuade people across Africa about the formidable prosperity potential of intra-African trade.

A major question that will emerge will be: What can AfCFTA and member states do to support the media to build public education about the new open Africa, and how seriously do African journalists themselves take the task of spreading the message?

The AfCFTA, APN’s principal partner, has been at the forefront of Africa’s new trade paradigm and brought a new lease of life to the continent’s efforts of building the world’s largest single market.

However, the lingering question of how to realise the single market through actionable and bankable policy positions has been brought to the fore. 

In an attempt to garner the needed actions that will engender prosperity across the continent, APD 2024, which will be hosted by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, proposes a theme and a set of thematic areas that speak to Africa’s transformation through the prioritisation of value addition economies across the continent. 

Rationale

The media webinar is essentially to get participants to explore and strategise on information-disseminating services and how the media can engage and inform people across the

African continent, as well as global audiences, to participate actively in the AfCFTA and capitalise on the opportunities that it presents.

It will feature speakers with deep knowledge of Africa’s trade ecosystem and an appreciation of the theme for APD 2024. 

They include Frankie Edozien, Petina Gappah, Toma Imirhe, Joy Kategekwa, Peter Sewornoo and Grace Khoza, Efua Anaman, Edith Dankwa, Aminatta Forna, Liz Gomis, and Njack Kane.

Others are Nana Abba Anamoah, Kojo Mensah, Onyekachi Wambu and George Jahraa.

APD 2024 retreat will take place from January 25-27, next year at Peduase Presidential Lodge, Aburi Hills, in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

There will be a presidential dinner gala and the Africa Prosperity Champions Awards ceremony on the night of January 26 at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel in Accra.