EVENTS By JAVAD MOTTAGHI
meetings back to back in Accra, Ghana, on 14-18 November 2011.
T
The 5th General Assembly of the AUB was held on 14-15 November 2011 in Accra. This was organised by the African Union of Broadcasters and hosted by Ghana Radio and Televison.
It was an opportunity for the ABU to strengthen its network and partnership with broadcasters in Africa. The assembly covered the reports of the AUB’s activities including the coverage of the World Football Cup in South Africa, its annual budget and future events. The ABU Secretary-General and ABC-Australia also actively participated at the assembly in Accra.
The next General Assem- bly will be held in Mozam- bique in November 2012.
World Electronic Media Forum in Accra
The 5th edition of the World Electronic Media Forum (WEMF), organised by the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), was hosted by the AUB in Accra from 16-18 November 2011. The ABU was well represented at the forum, which addressed a number of important issues facing the broadcasting industry.
The ABU has been actively involved in the WEMF since its inception in 2003. In 2011, in addition to the ABU Secretary-General and Director of ABU Tech-
40 ABU News
he African Union of Broadcasters (AUB) organised three
AUB meets in Accra
nology, the ABU was represented by speakers and chairpersons from NHK-Japan, ABC-Australia and RNW-Netherlands. ABU Technology was actively involved in planning and organising all sessions of the latest WEMF in partnership with WBU.
The transition to digital is inevitable. Worldwide, the change will be driven by increasing demand for more channels, the economic opportunities of released spectrum for governments, and the declining availability of certain analogue TV equipment for production.
The transition demands extensive planning, digital expertise, and cost with no increase in revenue. Furthermore, broadcasters and governments must keep in mind the future needs of terrestrial broad- casting.
The tools for making TV and radio programmes have experienced astounding evolution in recent years. Cameras, editing and contribution equipment have reduced
in size. Broadcasters need to need to seize the opportunities presented by this new equipment.
User-generated content has the capacity both to reflect social change and to create social change, as the recent events illustrate. The world needs to under- stand and help shape the relationship between citizen journalism and professional journalism.
As audio and video tapes decay in archives, much of the audiovisual heritage is at risk of being lost forever. Broadcasters need knowledge, skills and resources to future- proof irreplaceable cultural and historical archives for future programming as well as generators of revenue. Support is needed within the broadcasting unions and from international agencies such as UNESCO.
Public trust is the most important asset that broadcasters have. It is imperative that this trust is earned and maintained by the media practitioners.
Among the factors
that negatively impact public trust are biased reporting, intrusion of privacy, conflict of interest, unprofessional practices, government interference and insensitivity to public opinion.
Among the measures that could be taken to ensure public trust in the media are instituting a transparent editorial code of practice. The rules of journalism must apply to whatever medium is being used to reach the public.
Unchecked and rising energy consumption is a major contributing factor to climate change. The public must be made aware of scientific evidence in an interesting, understandable way, and broadcasters are urged to take on this task. The public must also be encouraged to conserve energy.
The forum also addressed the development of a news and exchange network for Africa. The network will connect Africa’s national broadcasters, allowing them to exchange news and other content.
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