Awarded by Julie Rey, research director of Com World Series, (AfricaCom 2012), the two bloggers, Simone Johnson and Lauren Leonard will spend three days at the continent's digital communications conference and exhibition, getting the low down on what's happening in the digis-phere and reporting on it, under the mentorship and guidance of Liron Segev of Swift Consulting; Bradley Shaw of Africa Telecoms magazine and Kaz Henderson, founding partner of Networx PR.
Run in conjunction with youth programme Hectic Nine-9, Johnson and Leonard were selected as the two finalists due to their submissions, easily out classing their nearest rivals.
Johnson has a project management qualification under her belt and is passionate about communications and aims to make a valuable contribution to the youth interested in following a career in the digi-sphere; Leonard who is currently studying journalism was shortlisted for her insight and take on the communications realm saying "Technology educated me. Technology goes beyond cellphones and iPods, it has transformed the human mind".
While AfricaCom remains a senior business executive focused event, there is a lot happening that the bloggers can get to grips with that will be important to convey to youth considering working in this dynamic and impactful arena.
The Entrepreneurs Incubator Hub, the Apps Developer Workshop and even AfricaCast are three key areas that the bloggers can explore and feedback on. The first order of business though, will be for the two young reporters to sit in on the Africa Industry Outlook session which kicks off the conference - their take-out on what's happening on the continent and how it affects them and their peers, should make for some interesting reading.
