As women across the world continue to mark the now commonly referred to as “Women’s Month”, AMWIK was not left behind. The Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) brought together female media practitioners from across the country for an exciting networking event on Saturday 18th March in Nairobi. Themed Beyond Newsrooms: Opportunities for Women in Media, the event was a great opportunity to exchange ideas, brainstorm on opportunities and explore possibilities of what women can achieve within the media space – in all the various forms it now comes in.
Chief Guest, Amb. (Dr) Amina Mohamed gave a heart-warming speech where she encouraged all present and listening in to carry out their roles with ethics and integrity. “Journalists are the biggest influences a country has. You have the power to control the narrative, and with that power, comes responsibility.” She emphasised. Ambassador Mohamed is now running the Ambassador Amina Live Foundation, and we shall definitely be giving you more information on that soon. Preceding her keynote was an introduction to AMWIK by the newly appointed Executive Director, Patience Nyange and the AMWIK Chairperson Dr. Jane Thuo.
“Change is the Only Constant” seemed to be the underlying theme from the panel discussion moderated by our very own Olive Gachara. Joining her was former KBC anchor, host and reporter-turned superstar politician and Member of Parliament, Hon. Naisula Lesuuda, media personality, content creator and director of PinKE Media, Pinky Ghelani, magazine publisher and Carol Mandi Media CEO, Carol Mandi, social media and content marketing expert, Janet Machuka as well as veteran journalist-turned digital strategist and trainer, Rose Lukalo.
The intriguing conversations touched on multiple areas including transition into public service, the coming of age of digital media, creating a strong authentic digital presence and the never-ending print vs. digital debate. Being a safe space for women, critical areas such as sexual harassment in the workplace [and online] as well as the impact of layoffs on female journalists also took centre stage, reinforcing that there is indeed a lot of work for AMWIK to do this 2023.
All these great conversations were followed by lunch and team building exercises that are always a great way for people to get to know each other – facilitated and emceed by the radio boss herself, Cynthia Mwangi of Hot96 and Citizen Digital.
AMWIK brings together over 300 women in the media to pull their professional skills in giving visibility to women’s concerns. These members are drawn from different parts of Kenya and work with other media associations and community networks across the 47 Kenyan counties. They recognise that gender inequality and inequity undermine development and that media is a powerful tool for social change and agenda-setting, which can be used to create public awareness around key issues affecting women to ensure public support and appreciation.
Are you in the media, or studying media, looking for a great squad of like-minded professionals? CLICK HERE To Join AMWIK.