[Commlist] CFP: African Women in Media 2026 (Namibia)

*CFP: AWiM26 Conference*
*3-4 December 2026; Windhoek, Namibia*
*Powering Women’s Leadership: Media, Economics and Governance*
African Women in Media (AWiM) is pleased to invite submissions for its 
10th annual conference, AWiM26.
We are pleased to host this landmark convening in Namibia, at a moment 
when women’s leadership is visible at the highest levels of governance 
and offers a powerful context for global reflection and learning. AWiM26 
brings together leaders from media, the creative industries, technology, 
policy, academia, and finance to explore how inclusive leadership can 
shape the future of media systems.
*About the Theme: *Around the world, women remain underrepresented in 
positions of political, economic, and institutional power, even as they 
play central roles in shaping public discourse, culture, and community 
life. At the same time, the media and creative industries are 
undergoing a profound transformation driven by platformisation, 
artificial intelligence, and new forms of digital labour. These shifts 
are changing how leadership is expressed, equity of market access, and 
raising important questions around digital protection, access to 
justice, and accountability within media and digital ecosystems.
Continental frameworks such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 place 
women and youth at the centre of Africa’s development future, yet 
translating these aspirations into concrete policies, institutional 
practices, and sustainable economic opportunities remains uneven. The 
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents new possibilities 
for regional market integration, cross-border collaboration, and the 
growth of Africa’s creative and cultural industries. However, structural 
inequalities in access to capital, ownership, and global distribution 
continue to limit the participation of African media and cultural 
producers, particularly women. Globally, debates are intensifying around 
the future of work, the governance of digital platforms, and the role of 
capital in shaping creative economies.
Within this context, AWiM26 asks:

 1.
    How is women’s leadership being exercised, constrained, and
    reimagined in and through media and cultural production?
 2.
    How can economic power in media and creative industries be
    redistributed more equitably, particularly for women and youth?
 3.
    What forms of governance are needed to protect rights, ensure
    accountability, and enable inclusive participation?


*Submit to the call for papers here:* 
https://forms.office.com/r/wnpYAnnrWj 
<https://forms.office.com/r/wnpYAnnrWj>
These questions are being explored across three connected subthemes:
*Subtheme 1: Media, Power and Narrative Leadership*
How leadership is exercised through storytelling, representation, and 
cultural authority.
*Possible themes include:*

  *
    Leadership in film/TV, radio, publishing, advertising, music,
    gaming, sport media, and community media
  *
    Platform visibility, algorithmic gatekeeping, and narrative extraction
  *
    Political communication, elections, and public trust
  *
    Representation of women in leadership
  *
    Feminist storytelling, archives, memory, and counter-narratives
  *
    Media ethics, credibility, and the future of public-interest content
  *
    Political economy of the media

*Subtheme 2: Resources, Ownership and the Future of Creative Work*
How economic structures, technology and investment shape labour, 
ownership, and participation in media and creative industries.
*Possible themes include:*

  *
    Gender-lens investing in media and creative industries
  *
    Financial models for independent media and creator economies
  *
    Access to capital for women-led media enterprises
  *
    Intellectual property ownership and copyright protection in digital
    environments
  *
    Revenue sharing and labour rights in global media collaborations
  *
    Labour conditions in media and creative industries, including
    informal work, precarity, and the care economy
  *
    AI in creative industries: opportunities and risks
  *
    Data rights, bias, and inclusion in systems affecting content
    distribution
  *
    Community-led and feminist approaches to technology design
  *
    Market access for African media and cultural producers in regional
    and global value chains
  *
    Sustainable business models for independent media in smaller markets
  *
    Audience development across borders; diaspora markets; language
    and localisation
  *
    Creating and maintaining responsible platforms in small communities

*Subtheme 3: Governance, Participation, and Rights*
How governance systems can enable safe, equitable participation in media 
ecosystems
*Possible themes include:*

  *
    Media regulation and gender equality outcomes
  *
    Platform governance and digital accountability
  *
    Women’s political leadership and the media’s role in democratic
    participation
  *
    Political will, implementation gaps, and accountability in gender
    equality policies
  *
    Anti-corruption, information integrity, and public communication
  *
    Implementing AU Agenda 2063, the Africa Free Trade Agreement and
    regional bloc commitments in national and sectoral policy
  *
    Online violence, harassment, doxxing, deepfakes, and risks to media
    integrity
  *
    Organisational duty of care in media organisations and platforms
  *
    Digital protection for journalists, creators and public-facing leaders
  *
    AI governance, algorithmic accountability, and intellectual property
    protection
  *
    Synthetic media governance, authenticity, and trust


*Submit to the call for papers here:* 
https://forms.office.com/r/wnpYAnnrWj 
<https://forms.office.com/r/wnpYAnnrWj>

*What We Are Looking For*
We welcome proposals that are research-based, practice-based, 
policy-oriented, tech-focused, creative, experimental, or 
cross-disciplinary.
Selected contributions will feed into a range of programme formats, 
including:

  *
    Research papers (academic or applied) – 15–20 minutes
  *
    Panels/Roundtables – 60–90 minutes, multi-stakeholder
  *
    Skills workshops / Masterclasses – practical and interactive
  *
    Creator showcases – short, high-energy demonstrations of methods or
    models
  *
    Policy labs – sessions designed to produce draft frameworks,
    guidelines, or tools
  *
    Exhibitions – photography, film, audio, XR, interactive and digital
    projects
  *
    Lightning talks – 5–7 minutes, focused provocations

*
*
*Special Invitation: Emerging Creators and Youth Voices*
If you are building an audience through TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, 
Instagram, newsletters, streaming platforms, or community channels, we 
want you in the room, especially if you are:

  *
    Experimenting with sustainable income models
  *
    Navigating platform risk or harassment
  *
    Producing cultural or political content
  *
    Developing new formats for African storytelling


Submit to the call for papers here: 
https://forms.office.com/r/wnpYAnnrWj 
<https://forms.office.com/r/wnpYAnnrWj>
*Selection criteria:* relevance to theme; originality; practical value; 
inclusivity; clarity; and fit for action-oriented spaces
*Timeline:*

  *
    30 April – Deadline for submissions
  *
    31 May – Early Bird registration open
  *
    31 September – Early Bird registration closes
  *
    3-4December – Conference dates


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