The Africa Renewal Podcast produced by the United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) and Africa Podfest was released on this year鈥檚 Africa Podcast Day, Saturday 12 February.听
The first of a three-episode launch series features Dr. Joy Kategekwa, a trade law and policy expert and one of the architects of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement that set the stage for the creation of one single African market for goods and services.
Leading African podcasting experts Melissa Mbugua and Josephine Karianjahi of Africa Podfest and organizers of the Africa Podcast Day say they are delighted to collaborate with DGC to produce the podcasts.听
鈥淲e are excited that the Africa Renewal Podcast will be one of the top products that will be showcased on the Africa Podcast Day, which is a day we use to celebrate talents in the industry.鈥
The podcast will be available on听,听,听,听, , and , as well as on the Africa Renewal website听and social media platforms:听听and听.听
鈥淭he Africa Renewal Podcast focuses on Africa鈥檚 development from the perspective of people living and working on and for the continent,鈥 says Nanette Braun, acting Director of Strategic Communications at the DGC.
鈥淚t highlights the work of individuals and institutions through solutions-focused stories of Africa鈥檚 social, economic and political journey.鈥
鈥淧odcasts have the power to stimulate our imagination,鈥 says Sandra Macharia, Chief of Africa Section in DGC. 鈥淲e see this as a relevant medium to connect with our listeners directly, wherever they are, with stories that are real, inspiring and hopeful about Africa.鈥澨
The new podcast is the next step in diversifying and expanding the Africa Renewal digital platforms to offer existing and new audiences factual and balanced content about the continent and complements Africa Renewal鈥檚 existing audio versions of published content.听听
The second podcast episode to be released on 3 March is a conversation with Dr. Bernhards Ogutu, a Kenyan scientist who leads global clinical trial research and worked on the recently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). He explains how the malaria vaccine could be a game-changer in tackling the killer disease in Africa.
The third episode will be out on 7 April and features Adenike Oladosu, a young Nigerian climate change activist. As the world prepares for the 2022 global climate talks (COP27) scheduled for November in Egypt, she calls for urgent measures to tackle the climate crisis.
The dates for the release of future episodes will be announced later in the year.