400 delegates discuss digital development at StarTimes seminar in China

OVER 400 delegates from 46 African and Asian countries, including more than 30 Information and Communication ministers drawn from African countries, such as: Nigeria, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Zambia, DRC Congo and Ethiopia, are converging for the 7th edition of the African Digital Development Seminar which kicked off yesterday, Monday, in Beijing, the Capital city of China.

The seminar, according to the pay tv digital platform, is designed to push the development of the continent’s broadcast industry’s digital migration.

The President of StarTimes Group, Pang Xinxing noted that the Development Seminar, which is in its 7th edition, had grown into a platform for deeper cooperation and dialogue for the development of the radio and TV sectors in Africa.

Besides hosting the annual event, the StarTimes’ boss expressed the company’s commitment to complete the 10,000 Villages Satellite TV Project under the instruction of Chinese and African governments.

“The project is part of the China-Africa cooperation announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation meeting in the 2015 Johannesburg Summit,” he stated.

In his remarks, the Vice Minister of China State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television, Tong Gang described the cooperation between Chinese and African media as being in tune with the ‘Chinese advocacy of One Belt and One Road’, insisting the Asian country is willing to deepen cooperation in the field of media development and promoting digital migration in Africa.

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed noted that digital migration had disrupted the traditional way of communication, adding that a new world had been created where the life span of new products had continued to plummet.

The minister noted that the seminar provided an opportunity for African countries to share their experiences about the expansion of digital technology as well as planning for the future.