Deputy Minister of Communications, Ms Pinky Kekana will on Monday, 30th July 2018 open the Inaugural Media Development and Diversity Community Summit.

The Community Media Summit is part of the Ministry of Communications efforts to align community media with the developments of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Under the theme “Taking community media to the future,” the summit will delve into critical areas in the Community Media sphere.

The main objectives of the summit are as follows:

To identify best practices in resolving the challenges in supporting the community media sector
To identify funding and sustainability models
To establish a task team to focus on governance, oversight, accountability, compliance and regulation best practices
To address signal distribution, transmission and self-provision models
To discuss strategies to support the community media focusing on the state of readiness for digital migration and the online environment
To explore strategies for transforming the value chain from the big players and unblocking where there are barriers to entry.

Community media is an important driver of media pluralism and freedom of expression. It is important that community media continuously receive the necessary support within their communities to ensure that there is an engaged and informed citizenry and audiences, specifically relating to government services in local communities.

Members of the media are invited as follows:

Date: Monday, 30th July 2018

Venue: Birchwood Conference Centre, City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng Province

Time: 08h30