The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) will on May 18, 2020 host some of the most prominent media and freedom of expression organisations to a one-day virtual meeting on promoting freedom of expression amidst a global pandemic.
The meeting, which is one of the annual convenings organised by the MFWA, will discuss pertinent prevailing and emerging issues in the freedom of expression and media landscape in the region.
Specifically, this year’s convening will discuss the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the operations of media, freedom of expression, and access to information organisations in all the 16 countries in the region. Participants will particularly share and learn from the experiences of colleague executive directors of the respective organisations on how they managed the challenges that came with COVID-19 and the lessons they picked throughout those trying times.
Participants will also brainstorm and strategise on how to strengthen collaborations to effectively deal with offline/online freedom of expression and press-related issues.
The media and freedom of expression organisations that will be participating in this regional forum are national partner organisations of the MFWA in the respective countries in West Africa.