TBC ready to host regional public service broadcasters meeting
DAR ES SALAAM: THE 30th Annual General Meeting of the Southern Africa Broadcasting Association (SABA), and the 7th Broadcasters and Digital Media Convention to be staged in Zanzibar next month, is timely and will promote transformation of broadcasting industry, organisers have said.
SABA is a membership-based organisation representing public service broadcasters in the SADC region including TBC, which is the host of this year’s meeting to run from October 10th to 12th, this year.
Addressing the media on Thursday in Dar es salaam about the event, the TBC Director General Dr Ayub Rioba said the meeting will promote transformation in broadcasting industry as it will involve the discussion of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) issues in promoting information technology and broadcasting.
“This year’s summit will provide insights and practical understanding of critical issues and strategies that we need to take to modernise the industry systems and operations in a sustainable and commercially viable manner,’ Dr Rioba said.
Adding: “This year’s meeting, among other things, will discuss in detail the position of ICT and its contribution to the growth of the digital economy in Africa to bring sustainable development and display the great improvements that have been made recently in the industry.”
He said during the meeting, participants will share various information and techniques as well as building capacity in ICT issues.
Moreover, he added that the meeting will help the information technology and broadcasting services to keep up with current technological changes.
According to the TBC boss, the meeting will bring together more than 200 industry stakeholders such as the heads of the public service broadcasters, experts in digital broadcasting and journalists from SABA country members.
Dr Rioba noted that the President of Zanzibar, Dr Hussein Mwinyi is expected to grace the opening of this year’s event.
He also said the meeting will contribute to the increase to the national income resulting from the tourism sector.
“We (TBC) have chosen Zanzibar because it is one of the important hubs of tourism in our country…we believe the participant will visit various tourism attractions found in Zanzibar and experience the beauty and uniqueness of the isles,” he pointed out.
The meeting will be taking place for the third time in the country, the fist being in 2003 (Dar es Salaam) and in 2013 in Arusha.
Among of the panelists of the meeting will be Dr Rioba, Stanley Similo, President for SABA, Benjamin Pius, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Publisher Broadcast Media Africa, and the DG for Rwandan Broadcasting Service, Arthur Asiimwe.
SABA, of which Tanzania is a member, was established in 1993 as a non-governmental organisation aimed at promoting the quality and professionalism of broadcasting activities for public media.
