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AUC Hosts Cairo Media Conference Cultivating Collaboration Between the Industry and Academia

Claire Davenport

AUC hosted the Second Cairo Media Conference, Cultivating Collaboration: How Industry and Academia Can Transform Digital Storytelling.

The conference focused on how media industry players could capitalize on new developments and face challenges in their field. Its main goal was to bring together academics and industry players to discuss and debate the future of the industry.

The topics discussed covered everything from how a national broadcaster caught up with relevant digital trends to the significance of fact-checking in a world filled with fake news. Keynote speakers included Kristoff Egeberg, Norwegian fact-checking website Faktisk; Arne Jensen, secretary-general of the Association of Norwegian Editors; and Monica Lid, head of digital development at Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

“In fact, this conference puts the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and its partners at the lead of a discussion on the future of journalism, not just in Egypt but worldwide," said Naila Hamdy, associate professor of journalism and associate dean for graduate studies and research.

The conference also included Hackathon workshops, where select individuals from media and academia created collaboration plans, paving the way for potential coordination in the future. "Today, with the media industry and how fast and rapidly it's changing, it needs to be more connected to academia," explained Tarek Atia, CEO and founder of Egypt Media Development Program and one of the event organizers. "It needs to see how students are being taught so that once they graduate, they can immediately fit in with the industry. Academia has to hear more from the industry about what they're thinking, about digital as well."

The conference was organized by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Oslo Metropolitan University; Egypt Media Development Program and the Egyptian Editors Forum.

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