Last update May 1, 2024
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| Wednesday, May 15 Nasdak (26th floor), Media24 Centre 40 Heerengracht, Cape Town (entrance at Table Mountain side of the building) 18.00 Registration 18.30 Welcoming cocktails Welcome: Ishmet Davidson , CEO, Media24 | ||
| Day 1 : Thursday, May 16 Nasdak (26th floor), Media24 Centre 40 Heerengracht, Cape Town (entrance at Table Mountain side of the building) | ||
| 08.00 Last minute registration | ||
| 09.00 Welcome | Margo Smit Ombudsman, NPO (Netherlands) and ONO President | |
| 09.15 Monitoring elections Media coverage and disinformation | Speakers: William Bird Media Monitoring Africa Herman Wasserman Dept of Journalism, Stellenbosch University (South Africa) | Moderator: Adriaan Basson Editor-in-chief, News24 |
| 10.30 Tea/coffee break | ||
| 10.50 Ethics and the big digital platforms: will they ever be regulated? | PRESENTATION BY UNESCO Speakers: Misako Ito Regional Advisor, UNESCO Khaled Mansour Member of Oversight Board, META | Moderator: Guy Berger Research, ICT, Africa |
| 11.50 Tea/coffee break | ||
| 12.00 Panel Discussion Africa’s dilemma: State control of the media vs self-regulation | Speakers: Loughty Dube Zimbabwe Independent Media Council Mpumelelo Mkhabela News24 columnist (South Africa) | Moderator: Willem Jordaan Editor of Die Burger (South Africa) |
| 13.00 Lunch | ||
| 14.00 Do journalists really know their own codes? | Speakers: Marenet Jordaan Department of Journalism, Stellenbosch University (South Africa) Kerstin Dolde Ombud, Frankenpost (Germany) | Moderator: Elisabeth Ribbans ONO Treasurer and Reader’s Editor, theGuardian |
| 15.00 Tea/coffee break | ||
| 15.15 Shoptalk (closed session) The growth in physical and online assaults on journalists | Speakers: Gerardo Albarrán de Alba Honorary News Ombudsman of Pie de Página (Mexico) Sandra E. Martin Standards Editor Globe and Mail (Canada) Miriam Lewin Defensoría del Público (Argentina) via zoom or video | Moderator: Lars Bennike TV2 Denmark |
| 16.15 Panel Discussion Dis/misinformation, manipulated photos: AI challenges for ombuds and standards editors | Speakers: John Daniszewski Editor at Large for Standards and Vice-President at The Associated Press (USA) Arlene Prinsloo Award winning former graphics/multimedia editor of Media24 (South Africa) | Moderator: Pierre Champoux Ombudsman, Radio-Canada |
| 17.30 Closing remarks | Margo Smit Ombudsman, NPO (Netherlands) and ONO President | |
| 17.35 Close | ||
| 18.30 Free evening | ||
| Day 2: Friday, May 17 Nasdak (26th floor), Media24 Centre 40 Heerengracht, Cape Town (entrance at Table Mountain side of the building) | ||
| 09.00 WELCOME | Jack Nagler CBC Ombudsman and ONO Vice-President | |
| 09.10 Keynote speech: Media self-regulation, state interference, and protection of journalists’ independence | Speaker: Bernard Ngoepe Chair, South African Press Council’s Appeal Panel | Moderator: Jack Nagler CBC Ombudsman and ONO Vice-President |
| 10.10 Tea/coffee break | ||
| 10.30 Panel discussion Media ethics in the trenches: journalists should do no harm | Speakers: Lizette Rabe iThemba Foundation (South Africa) Bjarne Schilling Readers’ editor, Politiken (Denmark) | Moderator: Ignaz Staub TX Group (Switzerland) |
| 11.30 Panel discussion Science and disinformation: handling nonsense on stilts by the media | Speakers: Nathan Geffen Editor GroundUp (South Africa) George Claassen Public editor, News24 (South Africa) | Moderator: Jurie van den Heever Palaeontologist, science columnist |
| 12.45 Lunch (provided) | ||
| ***Afternoon sessions closed / ONO members only*** | ||
| 14.00 Balancing the news during conflict: Israel/Hamas, and Ukraine/Russia | Speakers: David Regev Ombudsman, Second Authority for Television and Radio (Israel) via Zoom or video David Jordan Director of Editorial Policy and Standards, BBC | Moderator: Margo Smit Ombudsman, NPO (Netherlands) and ONO President |
| 15.15 Tea/coffee break | ||
| 15.30 Weaponising language: the fight over what words really mean | Speakers: Herman Scholtz South Africa’s Press Ombudsman Jane Patterson Director, Editorial quality and training, Radio New Zealand | Moderator: Amy Stockwell Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Australia |
| 16.30. Shoptalk (open floor): Members bring their worst problems of the year. | Moderator: Margo Smit Ombudsman, NPO (Netherlands) and ONO President | |
| 17.30 Closing remarks | Margo Smit Ombudsman, NPO (Netherlands) and ONO President | |
| 19.00 Closing dinner | Westin Hotel, Cape Town | |
| Day 3: Saturday, May 18 Conference room, Media24 Centre 40 Heerengracht, Cape Town (entrance at Table Mountain side of the building) | ||
| 10.00 AGM | ||
| 12.30 Close of conference | ||
ONO is grateful to all those members, guest speakers and supporting organisations who have contributed to this conference. Including:
The Press Council of South Africa would also like to thank Menar for supporting the attendance of its staff and guest delegates from the African Media Councils.
