Over a hundred delegates will converge on the La Plantation Hotel in Mauritius between 17 and 20 August for the Southern African Broadcasting Association (SABA) AGM, which will focus on setting standards for public service broadcasting (PSB) in the region.

Apart from SABA members, the secretariat is expecting representatives from the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB), the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) and the Asia-Pacific Institute for International Development (AIBD).

Inaugurated in 1993, SABA, a membership organisation of public service and other broadcasting organisations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, is committed to enhancing professionalism in broadcasting.

SABA secretary general Arlindo Lopes notes that one of the resolutions to come out of last year’s AGM was a consensus to proceed with PSB reform. Says Lopes: “A strategy meeting held in March this year discussed further proposals for an updated policy document to be submitted to the AGM for endorsement. In terms of setting and benchmarking PBS standards in the region, local as well as overseas broadcasters will share their experiences at the AGM.

Read more in the August 2008 issue of Screen Africa