AMINET elects new leaders

African Media Information and Communication Technology Trainers Network (AMINET), has been inaugurated, even as it has elected its first crop of leaders at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, recently.

The election came as a Nigerian foremost broadcaster, Mr. Bayero Agabi, emerged the continental coordinator of the network. While a director at the Kenya Media Training Institute, Mr. David Makali became the deputy, among other regional coordinators.

AMINET is the network formed under United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as part of its implementation of policy on ICT diffusion within the frame work of Africa Information Society Initiative (AISI).

This follows a training organized by UNECA to train the trainers in ICT media in Ethiopia the UNECA headquarters.

According to the officer in charge, Development Information Services Division (DSID) at ECA, Ms Aida Opoku–Mensah, at a cocktail for the network at Addis Ababa, said the media represents a value added constituency for providing awareness on the role of ICTs in Africa’s social economic development, especially in demonstrating ICTs applications in areas such as education, health, commerce, trade to name a few.

It is for this reason that a series of activities to build the capacity of media in information society issues were launched, including the development of training module, aimed at building media capacity on such issues as ICTs policies, infrastructure development, and access to information, local content development and networking.

Ms Opoku-Mensah also said, that the network is expected to come up with programmes that will impact on ICT development and awareness in the different regions coordinated continentally by the regional coordinators.

AMINET’s objectives include integrating ICT media training in curriculum/programmes to stimulate debate on ICT for development, through media outlets, public debate, awareness campaign, workshops, and conferences, thus serves as liaison between those who have and those who are in need of ICT training.

Responding to the election, the continental co-ordiantor, Mr. Agabi, who is also of the African Independent Television (AIT) Infotech Network, on behalf of the group said proposals on projects to be implemented in their various regions have began to come up and described their election as national pride.