The two-day African Women in the Media conference which had its theme as “Visibility” and held at UI conference centre, could be described as an engaging, stimulating and refreshing forum which knitted many African women leaders in the media into an atmosphere inspired by passion and colourful values.

Despite a late start on Thursday (June 21, 2018), the conference which was well attended by many female journalists and few men across 20 countries, was awoken into a defining and intriguing flight through the welcome address of the Convener, Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola, which was followed closely by the enlightening flash talks of Hannah Ojo (the nation newspapers), Yinka Ibukun (Bloomberg news), Stephanie Busari (CNN) and Aderonke Bello (the sun newspaper).

While still championing the objective of AWIM 2018 conference, which was to inspire, support and empower African women in the media, a 3-session workshop track was set in motion by the stunning compere, Lilian Imoni.

The first session of the opening workshop which held in the main conference room, discussed “Gender, security and election coverage” as debated by the likes of Prof. Ayo Ojebode (HOD, Communication and language arts dept. UI), Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy (HOD, mass communication, UNILAG) Asha Muwilu (CNN), Stephani Busari (CNN) and AbdulKareem Haruna (Premium times) and ably chaired by Ijeoma Onyeator of Channels TV.

The second and third workshops which held simultaneously at seminar rooms 3 and 4, deliberated on “Break the silence: Health, Violence and the media” and “Digital marketing” respectively – as delivered by some media professionals and DigiClan.

As soon as noon set in, attendees were referred to the reception where many were noticed lunching and networking over plates of yummy snacks before pitchers were called upon for their idea pitching to NRGI and BBC.

Later, the time for the academic keynote address which was to be given by Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy came knocking. Meanwhile the NTA legend and media expert, Eugenia Abu alongside other female media leaders sat on a panel that talked extensively on women in media leadership from their wealth of experiences. While speaking, Eugenia Abu emphasized the need for women journalists to lead in all they do and learn to do several other things on the job – similarly, Funke Durodola (Radio Nigeria, Lagos) encouraged the attendees to frame women from a promotional angle while Yinka Ibukun advocated for women journalists to write the unique African woman back into the story – Funke Osae Brown then reiterated to the audience on the reasons why they should have a can-do spirit; package, hype and sell themselves as women journalists; Nsima Ogedi Alakwe (Brand Director, Unilever) on the other hand encouraged women journalists to also get men involved in the process even when in leadership, while Aderonke Bello (the Sun online editor)_ rounded off with a need for the women in media to have mentors even as they are visible and change-driven.

Concurrently, the other two workshops which held at the same time as the earlier mentioned seminar, expounded on “Reporting in conflict areas and War Zones as chaired by Asha Mwilu (CNN) and “women behind and in front of the camera in the industry” as anchored by Dr. Lannihun, Dr. Adebisi, Bukola Ajala and Omolade Atofojomo; both exposed a great narrative which got the participants bubbling with enthusiasm and passion for journalism.
Day one soon retreated to a pleasant end, after the participants were treated to a sumptuous dinner and lively evening hangout at the University of Ibadan staff club.

Day two began with a delightful breakfast for all, including the renowned Nigerian Film Maker, Kunle Afolayan, who had arrived earlier than some attendees. With a refreshing opening remark from Dr. Yemisi Akinboba, the second day for AWIM2018 was set for great and fun-filled exploits even as the first female press secretary to a deputy governor in the north stepped forward to share her unique story on the field.

First, the fantastic and applause-deserving project presentations from Ijeoma Onyeator (Channels TV), Gabriella Torres (BBC) and John Eromosele (code for Nigeria) not only did beyond keeping participants wide awake but also left them anticipating for more.

Some minutes later, a typical academic and workshop track which includes 3-fold panel discussions broke out. Attendees then regrouped into sessions of their interest. A rather engaging and inspiring panel forged on at the main conference room as Lola Shoneyin(an award-winning Nigerian Author) revealed many mind-blowing thoughts about women in the media taking up their roles to portray women positively even in the stories which they tell. While the discussion on fictional content and perceptions of women in leadership was going on, the wife to the Kaduna state governor, her Excellency, Mrs. Hadiza Isma El-Rufai launched her presence into the event after which she shared the story of her foundation while debunking myths and lies about ‘women not supporting women’. And after those sessions was the lunch break for everyone at the reception, where many got along sharing stories and taking pictures.

Pitching to NRGI continued some minutes later at the boardroom, in order to give equal chances to every attendee. Sooner, the last workshop tracks for AWIM 2018 commenced featuring “Rethinking content by Taiwo Obe”, “Newsroom Leadership” by Funke Durodola and PR workshop – Sibabalwe Sesmani; leading to the skyped keynote speech from Nima Elgabir(CNN) towards the evening. Despite the poor network signals, participants were still able to plunge into Nima’s brave experiences and share with her, the passion to impact with journalism.

Due to the network inadequacies and distracting weather, the skype interaction with Nima was suspended while the other workshops on digital journalism resumed. As many waited for the closing remarks, a sudden elated scream from the entrance permeated the audience after it was reported that #TeamNigeria had scored a goal during the Russia 2018 Friday match.

The happy uproar then birthed the grand closing remarks from the Convener, who later officially closed AWIM ‘18 with the prompt announcement that the awards dinner where the winners of the NGRI grant will be unveiled was set to hold at the Staff club till late evening. The Conference was brought to an exciting end with group pictures, selfies, and videos.

The Dinner party which commenced around 8 pm was lit with high spirits as women media leaders lived up to the moment in their stunning black dresses coupled with their dancing shoes which later brought #TeamKenya to the fore as the best dancers.
It was an exchange of passion, laughter and excitement as jokes erupted while party conversations broke out.

Amidst the enticing venue, brilliant company and exceptional menu, the winners of the maiden AWiM pitch Zone were unveiled as #HannahOjo (the Nation newspaper) and Rolake Bello (Freshfm, Ibadan). According to Sarah Muyonga who led the NRGI, the team decided to award two grants as against the former plan, due to the brilliant submissions of the duo.

It was a fun night of activities and merry as attendees left with smiles and anticipation for AWIM 19, which was announced to hold in Kenya, next year.

AWIM 18 can be said to have birthed a strong network of women who share similar passions while creating fantastic empowering opportunities for many female media attendees.

African Women in the Media (AWIM) was founded as a Facebook group in 2016, by award-winning journalist, academic, and media entrepreneur, Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola and gender and development expert, Ms. Bamidele Ogunleye. It is a group for African women working in the media, anywhere in the world, who want to improve the way the media functions in relation to women. AWIM 17 was hosted by Birmingham City University, UK and AWIM 18 by University of Ibadan Nigeria; AWIM 19 festival promises to be more exciting at Kenya come next year.

Olamide Tejuoso writes from the University of Ibadan.