Events & Conferencing News South Africa

World News Media Congress to host first Women in News Summit

In association with the World News Media Congress and World Editors Forum, taking place in Durban from 7-9 June 2017, the inaugural ‘Women In News (Win) Summit' will host more than 200 leading editors and journalists from around the world.

‘Breaking through’ is the theme of the Summit, which is a component of Wan-Ifra’s sector-leading Women in News initiative, which seeks to increase women’s leadership and voices in the news.

Win aims to increase women’s leadership and voices in the news. It also works to change institutional bottlenecks constricting advancement of women media executives by creating champions and educators from within the media industry. Win employs targeted capacity building actions such as media management training, coaching and mentoring, combined with a partnership-driven approach to advocacy, emphasising education, sensitisation and practical tools.

Speakers

Speakers and mentors include:

  • Catherine Gicheru, country lead, Code for Kenya, ICFJ Knight Fellow, Kenya
  • Ritu Kapur, co-founder and CEO, The Quint, India
  • Lisa MacLeod, head of digital, Times Media Group, South Africa
  • Verashni Pillay, former editor-in-chief, Huffington Post South Africa
  • Maria A. Ressa, CEO and executive editor, Rappler, Philippines
  • Helje Solberg, CEO/editor, VGTV, Norway
  • Monica Almeida, bureau chief, El Universo, Ecuador
  • Fatemah Farag, founder and director, Welad Elbalad Media Services, Egypt, Director, Win Mena

As part of the Summit, a panel session hosted by Google will address the Gender Representation and Gender Bias in News Reporting in the Age of Social Media.

Laureates of the Women in News Editorial Leadership Award 2017 will be honoured at the Win Summit. Two top achieving editors, one from the Middle East, North Africa region and one from sub-Saharan Africa will each receive a 2017 Win Newsroom Leadership Award for exceptional contributions to their newsrooms.

Win is made possible through the support of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To view the programme, click here.

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