Every year, Africa spends billions of dollars acquiring foreign content, primarily news and entertainment that doesn’t always reflect its own realities. How can we strengthen local audiovisual production and reduce this costly dependency? How can we optimize the potential of African media by promoting content exchange within the continent?
To break free from this cycle and foster a thriving local industry, experts gathered at the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) General Assembly in Botswana to explore the potential of content exchange. The panel dedicated to the “Contribution of content exchange to the development of information and programs” highlighted the need to strengthen local production and promote content exchange within the continent.
Two key figures, Ms. Gisèle Salomé Nnemi Nga, Deputy Director of the African Union of Broadcasting-AUB’s Content Exchange Center in Algiers, and Ms. One Rabantheng Kalakachane, Presenter at Botswana Television (BTV) co-chaired the panel, highlighting the crucial role of content exchange in raising awareness among decision-makers.
Six experts then delved into the specific strategies needed to foster a vibrant African audiovisual industry: Ms. Karima Chelbi, Director of the AUB’s Content Exchange Center in Algiers, Mr. Buyani Zongwani, Director of Broadcasting Services at the Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS) of Botswana, Mr. Mactar Silla, CEO of Label Media Group, Mr. Kennedy Muyangeyo, Director of Antennas at RBA (Rwanda Broadcasting Agency), Mr. Mohamed Ali, Deputy Director of Information at NTA (Nigerian Television Authority), and Mr. Sviatosslav Schehegolev of Russian Today (RT Africa).
The experts explored numerous avenues for developing the African audiovisual industry, including taking into account the diversity of audiences, establishing mutually beneficial partnerships with other continents, strengthening the AUBVision platform and expanding its working languages, harmonizing the topics covered by African producers, and the need to train and retrain professionals in the sector.
Content exchange has emerged as a key element in fostering the emergence of a strong and dynamic audiovisual industry capable of reflecting Africa’s cultural diversity.
Watch Panel discussion
