Sputnik Africa Takes Part in Africast 2023 Conference & Expo Held in Nigeria

Over 10,000 guests from at least 32 countries worldwide gather at Africast 2023 international forum to share ideas and to find out recent media trends in terms of technologies, services and products.

Apart from "creating a platform for manufacturers to connect with potential customers and expand their business in Africa," the event features workshops and masterclasses with international and local experts, which enable participants to improve their skills.

Furthermore, industry professionals are given the opportunity to build contacts during the event within the networking hub Content Village and discover the talent of African filmmakers, who are screening their films at the conference.

Participants of Africast 2023, Nigeria

The mission of Africast 2023 is to allow the industry specialists to learn more about the trends and innovations in media, Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris Malagi told Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the event's first day.

"The mission, is that it will expose more of the practitioners and players of industry to better technologies, better content and other new innovations concerning the broadcasting industry," he said.

In addition, the minister noted that it's also a chance for African broadcasters to demonstrate their equipment, to present the continent and discuss content.

"A beautiful event. It's hope for all broadcasters around Africa to showcase our continent, to showcase their equipment and also talk about content. It is a very good event. We hope to see more of this," Malagi shared his impression of the occasion.

Minister of Information and National Orientation of Nigeria Mohammed Idris Malagi at the Africast 2023

Commenting on the importance of the occasion, Director-General Nigeria Television Authority Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos stressed that the key element of it is interaction and knowledge exchange between the participants.

"All in all, this is an international market for manufacturers and of course producers of content. The importance is, most of all, just to participate, interact and see how they can work together and exchange ideas and also buy from one another," Dembos underlined.

Moreover, he highlighted that media has the power to bring the world together, adding that although there is still division, industry specialists could be "very proactive" and "transparent."

"Well, I don't want to [dwell] into what the world is going through but [we're] all the same, as in media is capable of also bringing the world to unite though there is division anyway, but I think [professionals] will be able to be very proactive, very transparent and also go by the ethics of journalism," he emphasized.

Participants of Africast 2023, Nigeria

Speaking about the main challenges facing the media today, Dembos as one of the issues in the field mentioned the rapid technological development that the media has to keep up with.

"Media ownership is one big challenge and another thing, I think, technology is another issue, because technology is on the fast track and I think that also boils down to the issue of resources to [compete favorably] in the digital world," he explained.

Stay tuned for even more news from Africast 2023!