Fayemi’s EKSG Led Govt Sponsors Media Aides to Lagos Social Media Week 2020
Lagos Social Media Week was complimented by Governor Fayemi’s Media Aides.
In line with Governor Kayode Fayemi’s vision to improve the knowledge capacity of Ekiti State public service through Knowledge Economy and Governance (pillars 2 and 4 of his Administration Agenda), some of the Media Aides of the Governor are taking part in the on-going Lagos Social Media Week.
The 2020 edition of the Social Media Week (SMW) Lagos opened on Monday, February 24, 2020 at the Land Mark Event Centre, Oniru, Lagos. The event, which brings together experts in the technology, social and economic landscapes from home and abroad, would run through Friday, February 28, 2020 with the theme, Human X.
The Human X SMW Lagos 2020 is to lead an important conversation focused on what it means to take a human-first and experience-driven approach to innovations across industries and communities on the African continent.
The week-long event will further enrich the expertise and proficiency of Media Aides in the State.
A few of the topics treated and relevant in improving governance in Ekiti State are; “Governance, Technology & the Evolution of Civic Responsibility”, and “Data for Governance: the Power of Data in Improving Government Services.”
Speaking during the cause of the event, Special Assistant on New Media to Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Abiodun Borisade said that Ekiti State Government will continue to harness available opportunities to further boost the quality of service delivered to Ekiti people by the State Government.
”Factual Reportage by bloggers is crucial to growing audiences in a competitive digital space. My experience from observing social media practitioners who have consistently worked/created/delved into fake news content is that of a short lived fame.
“Once the facts eventually gets laid bare, followership drops, reputation is marred and ultimately future activities of such practitioners is taken with levity. Under Governor Kayode Fayemi , I’m proud to emphasize that accurate reportage remains sacrosanct in all media related activities,” he said.
In the opening session of the event, the topic: “The Future of Digital Publishing in Nigeria; How Best can the Media Deliver” was treated to the delight of the teeming audience.
The discussants addressed salient issues affecting the Media in Nigeria, with a view to proffering solutions at all levels including Media as it relates to Governance and public consumption.
The panelists include; Product Marketing Manager, Google, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tutu Laditan; Executive Creative Director, Noah’s Ark Communications Nigeria, Abolaji Alausa; Chief Executive Officer, Big Cabal Media, Tomiwa Aladekomo; and the Strategic Media Partnerships, Facebook, Sub-Saharan Africa, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy.
The session is moderated by Head, Digital, The Guardian Nigeria, Lolade Nwanze.
Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy submitted that, “It is very important for creators to take into consideration how users are consuming content. Look at how technology is evolving and what formats the consumers are consuming content.
“A lot of publishers are just chasing numbers instead of knowing their fans. You need to know your audience. You do this by knowing how the insights work and how to use them,” she said.
Abolaji Alausa said, “You have to realise that you need to be mobile with your content first and you have to be timely. People crave content a lot nowadays.
“”Storytelling is key to Africans and that’s why people want to see parallels in the media. Sometimes we make efforts to connect the world, other times the world does it for us.”
Tomiwa contributed that, “Sometimes you have content that you know is great content but the audience is not connecting to it. If you package it properly, you will see a spike as the people begin to connect to it.
The second session discussed on; “Defining and Regulating ‘Hate Speech’: Impact on Audience Need and Retention”.
Hate speech is a global phenomenon, but parameters for defining it objectively in Nigeria where the government is intolerable of criticisms are quite unclear. Speakers in this session discussed on how Hate Speech can be regulated without misuse and abuse of power.
Panelists include; Cheta Nwanze, Lead Partner, SBM Intelligence; Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun, Radio/TV Host; Adaora Ikenze, Head, Africa Public Policy, Anglophone, West Africa, Facebook; Morayo Afolabi-Brown, Media Consultant, TVC.
Cheta argued that whoever thought up Hate Speech Bill did not think and is ‘lazy’, saying that the bill was plagiarised from Singapore that operates authoritarianism so it does not work in the same context as Nigeria.
“We have a situation in Nigeria where justice is blind in one eye. It is dependent on who you are, where you are from and who you know. Do we expect such a society to know what Hate Speech is,” he said.
Morayo Afolabi-Brown said that Hate Speech is region-specific. “In Nigeria for instance where we are still trying to find ourselves, the line is blurry. We need to ask ourselves what hate speech means to us.
“Our democracy is still young and people still connect to their roots than the nation. The issue we have is not so much as with the speech itself but who we are as a people,” she said.
Adaora Ikenze contributed that, “Facebook is global so we have to operate on policies that are global. We constantly have this conversation about the thin line between Free Speech and Hate Speech”
Representative of the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Diaspora, Abike Dabiri said that, “We don’t have a Hate Speech problem in the country but if care is not taken, it will amount to that. That is where the government comes in to ensure that the country remains safe for all. Government has the responsibility that the country is galvanised towards national cohesion. If we really believe in the country, we should be sharing what brings us together on social media.”
Since its launch in 2013, SMW Lagos has continued to serve as a point of convergence for Africa’s most innovative minds. The conference has become a marquee event for business leaders, global thinkers, entrepreneurs, civil servants and anyone with a keen interest in Africa.
