The Africa Editors Forum (TAEF) has announced that the 2026 Africa Editors Congress (AEC) will take place from February 23 to February 24, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya.
According to them, this congress will bring together newsroom leaders, media owners, regulators, donors, and civic-tech organisations to address the most pressing challenges confronting journalism across the continent.
In a release from TAEF, the premier continental gathering is returning at a time when African journalism faces mounting pressures.
“The 2026 edition takes place at a moment of disruption and opportunity. Newsrooms are struggling with shrinking revenues, weak digital markets, and eroding public trust,” they wrote.
TAEF says the Congress is intended to convene the leaders who shape public narratives and safeguard the health of Africa’s information ecosystem.
“The Congress will bring together leaders who shape journalistic standards, influence public narratives, and steward the health of Africa’s information ecosystems.”
“It will offer structured dialogue, policy engagement, and practical tools to help rebuild news value, support newsroom resilience, and position editors as central actors in the future of media on the continent.”
TAEF notes that Africa’s media sector remains central to democratic participation and accountability but continues to face structural constraints.
These include weak revenue flows and dominance of global digital platforms, growing public distrust of information ecosystems, underfunded community and small-scale newsrooms, as well as associations struggling with sustainability and advocacy capacity.
They noted that the congress aims to address these issues collectively through coordination, evidence-based policy work, and renewed investment in public-interest journalism.
The Congress will focus on:
(1) Advancing fair compensation for African journalism through collective bargaining models and regulatory pathways
(2) Enhancing trust in news using modern and public interest focused regulatory frameworks
(3) Strengthening national editors’ societies to support advocacy and media-ecosystem coordination
(4) Improving collaboration with donors through shared priorities and direct engagement
(5) Promoting African-led funding models that reinforce editorial independence
(6) Supporting small and community newsrooms through institutional and financial frameworks
They further stated that the 2026 AEC is expected to draw about 250 participants, including editors-in-chief and senior newsroom leaders, National editors’ societies and press organisations, media owners and CEOs, African and international donors, competition authorities and regulators, digital rights and civic-tech groups, technology companies and Academic institutions or researchers.
TAEF is also inviting partners to collaborate in areas such as financial sponsorship, research contributions, technical support on regulatory or funding models, and support for participation by smaller newsrooms.
