PodFest Cairo 2021 Success

The virtual PodFest Cairo this year that was hosted by AUC’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication was a great success.

More than 70 people attended Podfest Cairo, Egypt's and Africa’s first podcasting conference on Sunday, March 7, 2021 on Zoom. The event was organized and hosted by the Journalism and Mass Communication department that also provided simultaneous translation.

The two-and-a-half-hour event, also known as PFC 2021, brought together Egypt’s podcast listeners and creators. The line-up featured keynote speaker Linah Mohmmad from the Washington Post’s Post Reports Podcast, who spoke about growing up in Jordan before moving to Texas and her introduction to audio via National Public Radio (NPR) in the U.S.

Mohammed ended her segment by discussing her recent audio essay, “Bachelorette in Arlington” that was published on This American Life. Other sessions included “The Road to a Successful Podcast” with Noran Morsi, host and producer of the recently launched Egyptian Streets Podcast along with Heba Shunbo, the host of Mommy’s Happy Hour Podcast, which launched last year. They spoke of the successes and challenges they’ve experienced with their new podcasts. 

Professor of Practice Kim Fox, the founder and conference organizer said that the spotlight segment was new this year and highlighted three local podcasts and podcasters. The conference also hosted a speed networking session - three rounds were held in the breakout rooms to give the participants a chance to meet a few other podcasters and podcast listeners. Fox said that Podfest Cairo is hoping to host other online events in Arabic and English in the coming months and is more hopeful to host PFC 2022 in person next year.