Africa Media Festival Kicks Off with Focus on Resilient Storytelling and Media Survival

By Daily News Reporter 

The fourth edition of the Africa Media Festival (AMF) officially opened in Nairobi today, bringing together participants from more than 200 organizations and 31 nationalities in what has become one of the continent’s most consequential gatherings on the future of African media. 

At a moment when journalism is facing economic strain, political pressure, and rapid technological disruption, the festival has positioned itself as both a strategic refuge and a forward-looking laboratory for African storytelling.

Held under the theme “Resilient Storytelling: Reimagining Media Freedom,” this year’s festival marks a clear departure from conversations that merely diagnose the problems confronting African media. Instead, AMF 2026 is focused on actively wiring a sustainable foundation for an ecosystem many speakers described as being “under siege.”

Across Africa, newsrooms are grappling with shrinking advertising revenues, mass retrenchments, and the collapse of traditional business models. These economic pressures are compounded by sophisticated state-led internet shutdowns, surveillance technologies, and tightening controls over information flows.

Against this backdrop, AMF has emerged not just as a convening, but as a strategic working platform where journalists, creators, funders, and policy thinkers can collectively imagine what survival—and relevance—looks like in a fast-changing media environment.

Opening the festival, Martie Mtange, Curator of the Africa Media Festival, underscored the importance of collaboration in an era defined by fragmentation.

“We are here to facilitate the collaborations that strengthen our ecosystem, connecting creators in finding solutions to these many questions,” Mtange said. 

“Our priority is to ensure we move forward together so no newsroom, media house, journalist or creative has to navigate these periods alone.”

Mtange emphasized that sustainability in African media cannot be achieved without grounding storytelling in local realities. She argued that African narratives must remain rooted in social justice, the rule of law, and the decolonization of minds—particularly in how African stories are framed, distributed, and consumed both locally and globally.

This call resonated strongly with participants who noted that external narratives about Africa often dominate global discourse, marginalizing local voices and lived experiences.

Organized by Baraza Media Lab, the festival highlighted the disruptive role of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in reshaping journalism. Speakers warned that AI-generated summaries and search-driven content aggregation are steadily wiping out traffic-based news business models that many African media houses still rely on.

At the same time, governments across the continent are increasingly leveraging new technologies to tighten control over information, restrict online spaces, and silence dissenting voices. Several panelists described this growing clampdown on media freedom as an “own goal” that weakens the feedback loops essential for stable socio-political and economic governance.

Daniel Kalinaki, Chair of Baraza Media Lab, challenged African journalists to rethink their place in the political economy of media.

“We are seeing a growing restlessness among young Africans that is reshaping public discourse,” Kalinaki said. “To wire a sustainable future for Africa’s media, journalists must move beyond being mere participants to becoming contestants in the market economy—by owning our media houses, our intellectual property, as well as homegrown AI tools.”

His remarks struck a chord with younger practitioners, many of whom see ownership of media infrastructure as a critical defense against political capture and corporate consolidation.

Beyond economics and technology, AMF 2026 placed a strong spotlight on the human cost of journalism in hostile environments. Speakers called for mental health and psychotherapeutic support to be integrated as a core component of professional sustainability, rather than treated as a peripheral concern.

Christine Mungai, News Editor at The Continent, cautioned against isolation within the profession.

“In these moments of uncertainty, we fail as media when we work in silos,” Mungai said. 

“By talking to each other and understanding the geopolitical superstructure, we can create systems that produce resilience in these fast-changing times instead of driving journalists toward self-censorship.”

Her comments reinforced a recurring message throughout day one: collaboration is no longer optional—it is essential.

The festival brings together voices from legacy media, independent creators, funders, and global partners, including DW Akademie, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Bloomberg, the Australian High Commission, Afripods, The African Editors Forum, RNW Media, and Journalists for Human Rights. This diversity reflects AMF’s ambition to bridge local realities with global solidarity while keeping African priorities at the center.

AMF 2026 will culminate on Thursday with the inaugural Africa Media Awards, featuring the newly introduced “Creator for Good” award. The accolade is designed to recognize individuals who have maintained excellence and spoken truth to power despite intense economic and political headwinds across the continent.

As day one concluded, organizers reiterated that AMF 2026 is not merely an annual gathering, but a critical backup and reflective tool for an ecosystem being rapidly redefined by artificial intelligence and shifting geopolitical power.

In a time of uncertainty, the Africa Media Festival is sending a clear message: Africa’s stories will endure—but only through resilience, ownership, and collective action.