The fifth seminar in the series "Self-regulatory Systems in the Commonwealth Press" took place in East Africa from 21 to 22 May.



The two-day seminar, held in Nairobi, Kenya was sponsored and hosted by the CPU. Delegates were senior editors and media practitioners from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The debate encouraged a lively forum and round-table for delegates to define their present systems of regulation in their countries. It was the fifth in a series of six seminars working to encourage debate and education about self-regulatory press systems in the Commonwealth.

The delegates were receptive to the concept of self-regulation and seemed eager to work toward the implementation of independent press councils and complaints commissions.

Kenya is launching a new independent press council on 4 June and is in the process of accumulating support and building the council membership. Tanzania explained that they have large donor sponsorship and need to work toward a timeline for the creation of a self-regulatory body. Uganda has a statutory media council and is not happy with the current level of government control so they have worked toward implementing a new code of ethics and are working toward self-regulation.

The CPU sent a small delegation to explain the systems including Professor Robert Pinker, Acting Director of the UK Press Complaints Commission, Ian Beales, a former UK regional editor and acknowledged expert on press ethics and codes of conduct and CPU Rapporteur, Kim Latimer, a former Canadian broadcast journalist.

The sixth and final self-regulation seminar is expected to be held in Barbados at the end of June and the series will be concluded in the UK in late Autumn, to be followed by a CPU report on Commonwealth Self-regulation.

Lindsay Ross | lindsay@cpu.org.uk
Executive Director,
Commonwealth Press Union,
3rd Floor, 292 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London SW1V 1AE
Tel: +44 20 7233 7822
Fax: + 44 20 7828 0660