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Media Convergence: Global Trends & Options for Africa was the title of a three day conference for editors and senior media managers in Cape Town. Nearly thirty editors and media practitioners from Southern and East Africa and Nigeria engaged in discussions on such topical issues as the consolidation of media companies into multi-media concerns and the possibility of revenue on the Web.

"Where do we come from and where are we going?" asked media entrepreneur and chairman of Lycos Europe, Prof. Jürgen Richter. Richter looked back at Europe’s track record and showed some possible lesson to be learned from its failures. Looking ahead the participants got a good grip on African reality and vividly exchanged their various experiences within the formation of larger media houses.

All aspects of media production came under scrutiny: editorial, technical, as well as advertising and regulatory issues. Funke Aboyade, general counsel of This Day in Lagos reported on the regulatory framework in Nigeria and was joined by attorney Justine White, who gave a comprehensive overview of the situation and its current problems in South Africa. The picture was rounded off with a positive outlook by Alec Hogg, CEO of MoneyWeb, who provided a insight into his own recipe for success.

The conference was hosted in conjunction the Sol Plaatje Institute of Media Leadership at Rhodes University.