The Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF) has announced that its 2025 Bagauda Kaltho Media Lecture will take place on Friday, September 19, with the theme “Journalism in Turbulent Times: Navigating through the Pressures.”
According to a statement signed by Zhiroh Jatau, Manager, Press Freedom, AMDF, the lecture aims to equip journalists with skills and strategies to withstand the challenges and risks associated with their constitutional duties.
“The theme is pertinent in view of the current challenges where journalists, especially those who speak truth to power, are targets of repressive governments that use different laws to clamp down on the media,” the statement read.
The lecture paper will be delivered by Dr. Kabiru Danladi of the Mass Communication Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Discussants include Mr. Lanre Arogundade, Managing Director, International Press Centre (IPC), Nigeria; Seth Bokpe from Ghana; and Sylvia Nankya of the Uganda Radio Network.
The event will also feature an award presentation, with the 2025 Courage in Journalism Award going to Thomas Mukhwana, a Kenyan journalist recognized for persevering through harassment and arrest during the #EndFinanceBill protest in 2024.
AMDF used the opportunity to call for an end to attacks on press freedom. “May we use this opportunity to reiterate the need for freedom of information, the need to stop the harassment of journalists, and the need for a conducive environment for every human life to thrive. This can be achieved when journalists are allowed to play their role as the fourth estate of the realm effectively and safely,” Jatau said.
The Foundation also urged interested participants to register for the lecture, adding: “We encourage those who have not registered for the lecture to do so through this link: https://forms.gle/C3jvq11uqV5NYJcZ9.