Broadcast professionals from across Africa are invited to attend a digital television capacity-building conference in Johannesburg from 8-10 November. The event is free of charge for participants from outside South Africa*. The conference, which is supported by the EBU, is organized under the auspices of SADIBA (Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association).
Enabling the digital transition
While digital broadcasting is not yet well-established in Africa, momentum has been gathering over the past few years. The vast majority of countries in the continent, which shares spectrum allocations with Europe as part of ITU Region 1, have adopted the DVB-T2 standard for digital terrestrial television. DTT services are on air in around 25 countries, while around ten have completed analogue switch-off. Addressing the skills deficit in the domain of digital broadcasting is a priority for administrations and the media industry in Africa – it will be an important driver towards a full digital transition.
November's conference, titled "Building Digital TV in Africa", will have a strong training and capacity-building focus. It will concentrate on the competencies and skills required to plan, implement and operate digital television systems and networks, covering satellite and terrestrial broadcasting as well as online content delivery. While the sessions and topics will be of a technical nature, those working in management, administrative, policy and regulatory environments will also benefit from attendance.
Joint initiative
This event builds on the success of a DTT-focused workshop held at the ITU in Geneva last October. The EBU is joined once again by DVB and Broadcast Networks Europe in organizing the Johannesburg event in collaboration with SADIBA.
To see the complete programme and find information about registration, visit the SADIBA website.
* The registration fee waiver applies to delegations of four people or fewer attending from African countries other than South Africa. For more information on registration fees, please visit the SADIBA website.