Highway Africa is a forum for debate on journalism, media and technology; a learning network for South African and African journalists through the skills training workshops, debates and seminars and a networking forum for media professionals, policymakers, private sector, academics and civil society.

For eleven years the Highway Africa conference has been at the centre of Africa’s debates on journalism and new media and become the largest annual gathering of African journalists in the world.

This years event is scheduled for September 8th -10th 2008, with a theme citizen Journalism, a journalism for Citizens. Through formal presentations, keynote addresses, workshops, interviews and practical examples, the Highway Africa Conference will explore the challenges of print, radio, television, online and multimedia.

The questions to be addressed include the following:

* What is Citizen Journalism?

* How does journalism serve citizens?

* What quality control exists in citizen journalism?

* What technology is driving citizen journalism?

* What are the African experiences of Citizen Journalism?

* How should ‘traditional’ media respond to citizen journalism?

* What is the ‘business model’ of citizen journalism?

* How is citizen journalism implicated in the democracy project?

* What should be the technical and journalistic skills of citizen journalists?

* What are the gender dynamics in citizen journalism, media ownership and what are the ethical issues arising from citizen journalism?

* Is there a case for ‘converged journalism’ and multi-skilling of journalists in Africa?

* What is the role of free software and open source in supporting Africans to have a voice in cyberspace?

* Is mobile technology the future of journalism?

Highway Africa is a partnership between Rhodes University (School of Journalism and Media Studies) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), with the support of several partners, development agencies and sponsors.