Radio Silence

 At the wrap-up of the African Media Leaders' Forum in Dakar, Senegal, the 30-plus media publishers from across the continent released a joint statement that will guide the group through future attempts to work collaboratively towards a stronger media landscape in Africa.

The Dakar Declaration outlined some of the agreed-upon premises while identifying three main goals for the group:

Call on the global investor community and financial institutions, banks and national, regional and international organizations to recognize the African media industries as profitable investment opportunities;

Urge Africa's development partners to take into account the role of media in all aspects of development programs and projects, and encourage them to adopt a more coordinated and synergistic engagement with the media;

Invite African governments, the African Union Commission, and regional African organizations to take proactive steps in creating conditions conducive for promoting media as partners for achieving sustainable development on the African continent

The declaration wound up by agreeing to convene in Nairobi next year for next year's forum-- a great next step towards building a more collaborative and unified media environment.

See today's two previous posts on the forum here and here.