@CJIDAfrica / X

Delegates attending the third edition of the Media and Development Conference (MDC-3.0) in Abuja, sponsored by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), a west African media innovation and development think-tank affiliated with https://x.com/CJIDAfrica/status/1992893913842024633/photo/2Premium Times.

The third edition of the West Africa Media and Development Conference (MDC 3.0) is underway in Abuja, drawing some 300 journalists, policymakers, researchers, diplomats and technology leaders from across more than a dozen African countries.

In his opening remarks at the conference on Monday, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and Publisher of PREMIUM TIMES, Dapo Olorunyomi, said Africa is approaching a decisive decade that will determine whether the continent shapes its own digital destiny or remains exposed to escalating democratic, developmental and data-governance vulnerabilities.

In her keynote Juana Kweitel, Luminate Group Vice President and Chief Programmes Officer, emphasised the importance of collective action, innovation, and responsibility as media navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead. In his address, Premium Times Editor-in-Chief Musikilu Mojeed called for development of a national mobile application in Nigera to enable victims and eyewitnesses of kidnappings, robberies and other attacks to report incidents without interference.

A panel of experts, drawn from continental organisations and governance institutes, warned that Africa is losing an estimated $83 billion every year due to corruption, weak governance and opaque regulatory systems in its extractive industries.