In this month’s Newsy Newsletter
Cofounders On Audio Industry Shifts
Africa Podfest at the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum
APVA Awards 2023, Nominations & Twitter Space
Community Event: African Podcast Database
Audio Industry Shifts: Shrinking Support for Podcast Communities
We are alarmed that many of our favourite global podcast community gatherings have been postponed or canceled entirely for 2023. While large scale podcast events continue growing in scale, there is a significant pullback in investments into smaller community events which often focus on underrepresented groups such as women and Black, Indigenous and People of Color podcasters.
Our friend Elsie Escobar, a podcast advocate and educator and cohost of She Podcasts penned a powerful letter after the She Podcasts LIVE festival announced that it is going virtual. Consider reading the whole letter, which says in part:
“Community leaders, the ones that enthusiastically bring people together, inspire them, educate them, mentor them, they are why podcasting feels the way that it feels. Remove them, remove the community spaces and podcasting has lost.”
As Africa Podfest cofounders, we are sounding an urgent call for support for your favourite podcast community conveners where you live and beyond. If you have benefited in any way from Africa Podfest, you should be concerned too. Our team had to cancel our large Africa Podcast Day 2023 gathering in December 2022. We have also had to roll back much more than you can imagine. Many others who convene podcast festivals, conferences and fellowships have also announced postponements and cancellations.
Many are hurting due to cost of living crises around the world. We live and see the reality of the economic pressure from every side. Not excluded from these realities are the 200+ professionals who Africa Podfest has engaged in various African countries and the African diaspora in the course of our three-year research, festival &events, and podcast production journey. Without strategic investments, individual supporters and long term commitments, this creative business and its partners cannot continue these engagements.
We call on those of you who can to help us keep going.
From our hearts,
Melissa Mbugua and Josephine Karianjahi
Cofounders and Codirectors, Africa Podfest (www.podcasting.africa)
Africa Podfest at the DW Global Media Forum 2023
Africa Podfest is committed to amplifying underrepresented African podcast storytellers. Of note, African journalists are increasingly creating podcasts which fight persistent negative stereotypes about Africa and Africans in a world filled with them. Josephine Karianjahi joins a host of distinguished speakers and panelists at the DW Global Media Forum: world leaders, media makers and experts in Bonn, Germany on 20th June 2023 from 14:30-15:30 hrs.
The panel convened by sef: Development and Peace Foundation features Mercy Abang, an award winning Nigerian journalist and managing Director of Hostwriter and will be chaired by Frank Hofmann, a senior DW correspondent with welcome remarks by Dr Marcus Kaplan, Executive Director of sef: Development and Peace Foundation.
The session will focus on ‘Building Bridges – Journalistic Initiatives (Re)establishing Trust between World Regions’. Around the world, innovative journalistic initiatives are trying to (re)establish trust between different world regions, by delivering a more nuanced representation of reality. The panel will discuss how successful have they been and what are their major challenges
Make Your Podcast Move : APVA Awards 2023 Nominations
A very big shout and wave to all you readers from Africa and around the world where African podcasters create podcast stories.
APVA Awards 2023 is an unmissable celebration of all we love and appreciate about Africa’s talented voice and podcast professionals. Africa Podfest is a proud partner of the 2023 Awards as a platform which shines a big spotlight on African podcasters. Together, we look forward to celebrating the theme “Voices of the Future” with APVA and with all of you at the 2023 APVA Awards.
The second edition of the African Podcast and Voice Awards (APVA) is set for 23rd September, 2023.
The first edition of the APVA held on 25th September, 2022, and it received 2,200 nominations and over 70,000 votes, making it the continent’s first and most significant event dedicated to the African audio creative community. This year, APVA aims to build on that success, and believes that your involvement will make a significant impact.
The primary goal for APVA is to recognize and celebrate the achievements of African voice talents who have contributed significantly to the growth of the industry. We believe that by acknowledging and highlighting the achievements of these talents, we can motivate and inspire other creatives at all levels to pursue excellence in their chosen fields.
This year's awards have the theme "Voices of The Future." As we look towards a new era of audio creativity and innovation on the continent, the awards will deepen our mission as an organization to amplify the voices of audio creatives who are pushing boundaries and breaking new grounds.
How To Nominate Your Podcast: The 2nd edition of the APVA Awards is here - have you nominated your podcast? Nominations here until June 15th 2023. Please submit a nomination before 12:00 am GMT on 16th June 2023.
Our cofounder Josephine will join APVA for a Twitter Space on 12 June 2023 to chat about the APVA Awards 2023. Check out the link below to save the date and make sure you do not miss this exciting conversation.
Equality in Audio Pact - Phase Two
The audio industry is brimming with possibilities for inclusion, diversity and economic opportunity for historically marginalised communities around the world. In this early stage of digital media, Africa Podfest and other grassroots podcast leaders around the world recognise the urgency of working together to lay the foundations that would dismantle systemic inequality and exclusion in order to pave the way for systemic inclusion.
At The Podcast Show in London on 25 May 2023, UK Audio Network (UKAN) and Content is Queen jointly announced the next phase of the Equality in Audio Pact [EAP] under their stewardship. This announcement is a necessary response to the critical need for accountability and progress in the podcasting industry, as the clamour for equality continues to reverberate globally.
Phase Two of the EAP represents a bold step in evolving audio industry standards three years after the initial call-to-action and pact sign-up process. This phase will bolster the EAP by creating actions from the original pledges and by creating organisation certification to allow companies that sign up to display that they operate within EAP guidelines.
Laura Blake, Owner of the UK Audio Network, warned, “This is putting the industry on notice. Our pay transparency survey results remind us that we have systematic gaps to fill and that talent is being ignored, underpaid and under-invested in. If you are not white and not a man, you are being paid less than three years ago. Time to say less and do more."
Similarly, Imriel Morgan, Founder and CEO of Content is Queen, emphasised that the Equality in Audio Pact’s initial stage was a significant step to incite the audio industry towards broader participation and access.
“The next phase is to ensure the pledges made by our signatories are upheld, to reward those who meet the agreed standards and to hold accountable those who fall short. Token gestures are no longer acceptable,” Morgan added.
The urgency of this next phase is underscored by the unsettling findings from the 2023 UKAN survey. As women advanced in their careers, the pay disparity between genders was disturbingly amplified.
Via Podnews
Read this Open Letter from Content is Queen, supported by podcast leaders including Africa Podfest which details what is happening and what you can do as a leader and as a podcaster focused on the African continent. Three years after a global call to action, it's time to scrutinise the audio industry's progress. Let's measure words with actions.
Community Time: African Podcast Database x 2022 Discovery Tour, Data Edition
If your podcast is one of the great African podcasts featured on The African Podcast Database, save the date and look out for a special email invitation to a community meeting on Thursday June 22nd 2023 from 4-5:30pm. The meeting will be a special review of the 2022 Discovery Tour of Data by Africa Podfest supported by Baraza Media Lab. Spots are limited, so when you see the email, secure your seat.