16th General Assembly of the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) June 18–20, 2025 - Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

16th​

General Assembly of the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB)

June 18–20, 2025 - Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Theme: Empowering African Media: what Strategies for Financial Resilience, Technological Growth, and Content Innovation?

CONCEPT NOTE

I-                    Context

The global media landscape is currently at a critical crossroads. In Africa, media outlets are increasingly exposed to interconnected challenges: economic pressures, scarce financial resources, rapid technological disruption, increased and unfair competition from multinational news corporations, and more.

The threat to the viability of African media is destabilizing our social fabric, with direct consequences for broadcast professionals whose situation is becoming precarious.

In the face of competitiveness imposed by new communication channels, pressures are weighing on African broadcasters. Traditional funding models based on advertising and public subsidies are crumbling. According to UNESCO , advertising revenues in many African countries have declined significantly since 2016. According to the International Center for Journalists (ICJ), "Google and Meta/Facebook now absorb about half of all global digital advertising spending. Over the past five years, global advertising revenues collected by newspapers have fallen by half." Public budgets are increasingly being devoted to other priorities. This scarcity of resources makes media more vulnerable to political influence, disinformation, and external dependence, compromising their ability to exercise their role as a countervailing power.

Paradigm shift

Technological disruptions, while offering new opportunities, pose considerable challenges. The digital transition requires massive investments in infrastructure, media education, and skills development. Many African media outlets, in the most remote regions, lack the resources needed to adapt quickly. The digital divide is widening, marginalizing a significant portion of the population and limiting access to relevant information.

Global competition is intensifying. The pressure is immense. With their technological prowess and extensive satellite coverage, non-African media giants are capturing a considerable share of African audiences, to the detriment of local media. This media hegemony threatens to stifle African voices and undermine the continent's media's ability to reflect and promote its unique cultures and identities. How then can African governments create a media environment conducive to growth and resilience? Is that not a crucial role?

The urgency of action

Faced with this critical situation, the African Union of Broadcasting must act with a clear vision, unwavering determination, and a desire for radical transformation. It is time to rethink our business models, our production and distribution strategies.

Innovation must be our compass, anticipation our method. It is time to build a new paradigm for the future of broadcasting. This should focus on the integration of new technologies (AI, Big Data, Blockchain, 5G), the diversification of platforms (streaming, podcasts, social networks), and adaptation to audience behaviors. This transformation is not an option; it is an emergency, a fundamental necessity to preserve the vitality and impact of African media. So, are we ready to take on this challenge and build a promising future for African media?

II-                  Aim

The main aim of the 16th General Assembly of the AUB is to define and promote transformative strategies and innovative solutions that ensure the resilience and viability of African media in the face of economic, technological and competitive challenges, in order to preserve their crucial role in the social, cultural and economic development of the continent.

III-                 Thematic axes

-          Financial resilience (innovative strategies, economic models).

-          Technological resilience (Satellite broadcasting: costs, investments, perspectives)

-          Innovative content (relevance, response to audience aspirations; youth; diversity; gender equality, etc.)

IV-                Panels

Panel No. 1: Television broadcasting and digital transition: challenges, innovation and prospects for African audiovisual

Panel No. 2: Financial resilience: anticipate, manage and prosper

Panel No. 3: Innovation in content: creating, impacting and standing out in a competitive environment

V-                  Target

General Directors representing the media; Officials; Experts; Academics; Content creators; Representatives of sister Unions; Partners.