Jared Boucher is in Cape Town, South Africa, working for the Journalism Department of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).

By Jared Boucher

Highway Africa

I have been working in Cape Town, South Africa for the past two months on an international development internship funded by Canadian International Developments Agency (CIDA) and administered by Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ottawa, Canada.

As a graduate of Algonquin College's Radio Broadcasting program I was excited to have this opportunity to assist faculty with the development of the Journalism Department at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).  

I thought I was cultured, flexible, and ready for whatever was thrown my way up until last week when I found out that my experience of multi-cultural living was very limited.

All of my training in Canada could not prepare me for the eye opening experience of attending the "Highway Africa" conference in Grahams Town, South Africa.  The conference which is designed as a platform for Journalists and the media industry to come together for lectures, open floor discussions, and focus groups has been taking place for over 10 years and growing exponentially each year. The turn out this year was over 700 delegates, including attendees from all over the world, including 45 African countries.

    The conference was very interesting.  There were at least 50 or 60 different ethnicity / cultures and multiple languages. I had to use the French language that I was taught in my early childhood and teenage years.  Language truly is a currency and the more you have, the better off you are!  I found my French being tested during presentations by French speaking Africans.

    The conference was very useful and I gained a new understanding of Journalists and the media industry in Africa and how it differs from North America.  For example, we have freedom of speak and freedom of expression. This however is not the case for all of the countries in Africa.  There are countries in which Journalists are told what they can or cannot print or express to their reading / listening or viewing audience. This includes countries where the government has control over the media and the message it sends to the populous.  The “Highway Africa” conference illustrated the challenges the media industry face in Africa.

     One focus group for which I participated included industry leaders, educators and media employers. During this group meeting, many topics were covered pertaining to African journalism, how to teach it, and what employers want from their perspective employees.   One interesting finding was no matter how well developed the curriculum is what is important to impress upon students is their ability to be adaptable to change. As the African continent continues to change so do the laws pertaining to free speech and expression and a free press.

Each day as an intern I continue to learn.  The CIDA funded, Algonquin College internship has been and will continue to be a learning experience.

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