African Media Councils Unite to Promote Press Freedom
The network's 2025 meeting will be held in Tanzania, supported by UNESCO and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa— Independent media regulators from across Africa took an unprecedented step Thursday by forming a new continental network aimed at strengthening press freedoms and journalistic ethics, writes Winston Mwale.
The Network of Independent Media Councils in Africa (NIMCA) was established at an inaugural meeting hosted by the South African Press Council in Cape Town.
Thirteen media councils from East, West and Southern Africa joined as founding members.
"This is an important day for our media sector and ecosystem," said Ernest Sungura, executive secretary of Tanzania's Media Council, which will lead NIMCA initially.
"For too long our media councils have operated in silos."
Sungura said the network will allow members to build common approaches, deepen media freedom, bolster accountability and support sustainable journalism across the continent.
In its founding resolution, NIMCA affirmed the African Commission's 2019 Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.
It decried censorship, intimidation and threats against journalists, regardless of whether media outlets are state-run or privately owned.
The network will promote self-regulation as the cornerstone of a free, ethical media. It urged other independent African media regulators to join its ranks.
Key priorities include developing a pan-African ethics framework, providing guidance on misinformation and new technologies like artificial intelligence, finding sustainable funding models and achieving gender parity within regulatory bodies.
Delegates expressed particular concern about social media's role in spreading low-quality content unconstrained by journalistic standards.
NIMCA's leadership board includes representatives from Ghana, South Africa and Zambia, alongside Sungura of Tanzania.
The network's 2025 meeting will be held in Tanzania, supported by UNESCO and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.