Deputy Minister of Communications Pinky Kekana will on Monday open the Inaugural Media Development and Diversity Community Media Summit to be held at Birchwood Conference centre in Boksburg.
The Community Media Summit is part of the Ministry of Communications’ efforts to align community media with the developments of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
The summit to be held under the theme: “Taking community media to the future,” will delve into critical areas in the Community Media sphere.
The department said the main objectives of the summit are:
• 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,” the Department of Communications said in a statement. – SAnews.gov.za
