Kunle Afolayan, Lola Shoneyin to train journalists at 2018 AWiM conference

Kunle Afolayan, Nollywood filmmaker, and Lola Shoneyin, Nigerian author, have been announced amongst speakers scheduled to train journalists at the 2018 African Women in the Media conference.

The conference, which is organised by Yemisi Akinbobola, will take place at the University of Ibadan on June 21 and 22.

CNN’s Nima Elbagir has been announced as the keynote speaker of the event.

Some of the other facilitators scheduled for the event are Hannah Ojo from The Nation, Ayobami Ojebode, professor at the University of Ibadan, Funke Durodola from Radio Nigeria, Yinka Ibukun from Bloomberg News, Gabriela Torres, BBC World Service, Digiclan and Asher Mwilu, 2016 CNN African Journalist of the Year.

The conference, which boasts of participants from 20 countries, will have four industry panels, four academic panels, and eight training workshops in areas like data journalism, digital marketing.

“There are three tracks running simultaneously at any one time during the conference”, said Akinbobola.

“We don’t want to just talk about the issues, but through the workshops, pitch zone and networking opportunities, we are putting actions into place to empower attendees.

“Action is key here and we are so grateful to all our sponsors for their support. We are particularly excited to launch the AWIM/NRGI award which comes with a $1,000 cash prize.”

African Women in the Media, founded by Yemisi Akinbobola, 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.

The 2017 edition of the conference was hosted by Birmingham City University, UK.