The first Annual Sustainability Forum and Media Leadership Network, a two-day event, commenced in Juba on Wednesday, with a primary focus on fortifying the media sector and ensuring its longevity.
The forum, held under the theme “Collective Responsibility to Strengthen South Sudan Media Sustainability and Quality of Information for Communities,” aspires to foster enhanced cooperation, the exchange of experiences, and knowledge-sharing between the media industry and the private sector.
Ayaa Irene Lokang, the acting director of the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS), emphasized the significance of this forum as an opportunity for South Sudan to glean insights into sustainable media models from neighboring countries like Uganda and Kenya.
“We have trained many young journalists who are now working in various media houses in South Sudan. Due to the maintenance and running costs of numerous media houses, young journalists risk being sent away. Media houses are dying in South Sudan. They cannot recruit all the journalists that we are training. So this is why we are here today,” she said. “We want to save our media from dying out. We are going to discuss sustainability issues and how we can borrow from our sisterly countries Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa. How can we borrow their sustainability models and then craft them in the context of South Sudan?”
“For those familiar with South Sudan’s media sector, between 2011 and 2013, you will notice that numerous media houses were established, including several newspapers and radio stations, however, how many of these are still in operation?” Ayaa added.
The inaugural forum brought together participants from the media industry, private sector, and civil society groups to deliberate on critical topics such as media independence, sustainability, and technological advancements within the South Sudanese media landscape.
Farhanaz Kermali, Chief of Party for Sustainable Independence Media Activity South Sudan (SIMA), clarified that SIMA’s mission in South Sudan is to provide training for media professionals and extend support for media sustainability.
“The goal of SIMA is to improve access to credible, accurate, and reliable information for South Sudanese citizens. For the last year, we have been partnering with a number of your organizations to support radio operations and capacity-building for journalists,” she said. “One of the most important objectives of SIMA is to increase the sustainability of independent and community radio operations.”
Meanwhile, Simaloi Dajom, a Kenyan Business Sustainability Advisor and one of the facilitators, stressed that media sustainability is a collective responsibility involving media owners, managers, and journalists.
“The ability of the media to deliver its mandate of serving its audience contributes significantly to the sustainability of that media house,” Dajom said.
For his part, Matik Kueth, a journalist working for City Review, a daily newspaper, praised the efforts of AMDISS and its partners in organizing the interactive event.
“We have several independent media houses here and some of them survive through donors. They write proposals and get funding,” he said. “However, if the government could support these media houses, it would be beneficial.”