Tusi Fokane – Executive Director, Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI)

tusi-fokane-policy-analystTusi is a policy analyst with experience in communications regulation.  She holds a Masters in Management of Public Policy from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has previously conducted research for the Freedom of Expression Institute on “The transformation of broadcasting in South Africa: A history of the Campaign for Open Media and the Campaign for Independent Broadcasting.”

Pa Louis Thomasi – Programmes Officer, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

pa-louis-thomasi-programmes-officerPa Louis is a Gambian journalist residing in Senegal. He holds an MSc in Mass Communication and has been working with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) as Programmes Officer for the Africa Region for the past decade. At the IFJ he is involved in the defense and promotion of the rights of journalists in the continent, most especially in relation to freedom of expression and of the press, freedom of association, labour rights and the right to organize.
He was very instrumental in the formation of journalists’ trade unions in Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland, as well as assisting other unions across the continent in their quest to sign collective agreements, most especially in West and Central Africa.
He is married and has two daughters.

Eric Chinje – Chief Executive Officer, African Media Initiative (AMI)

erich-chinje-chief-executive-officer-of-the-nairobi-based-african-media-initiativeEric is the Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi-based African Media Initiative (AMI). Prior to moving to Kenya in 2014, he was (and still is) a Visiting Scholar at the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.  He served as an Adviser to the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia and South Sudan on their strategic, development and international communications- an extension of his role as a Senior Advisor at the Washington-based International Communications and Trade-relations firm, KRL International.
Previously, Eric has worked at the London-based Mo Ibrahim Foundation, led the Global Media Development Program at the World Bank Institute (WBI) and, in that capacity, launched the IMAGE (Independent Media for Accountability, Governance and Empowerment) e-learning program and network to build media capacity to report on and analyze global development issues.
Mr. Chinje studied in the universities of Yaoundé (Cameroon), Syracuse (New York) and Harvard (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and lectured in the Yaoundé University School of Mass Communication in Cameroon. He is fluent in both English and French. Mr. Chinje is an Officer of the Cameroon Order of Merit and an Officer of the Dutch Order of Orange Nassau.

Daniel Kalinaki – Managing Editor, Nation Media Group

daniel-kalinaki-journalistDaniel is a Ugandan journalist, editor, trainer and author. He is currently Managing Editor in charge of regional projects and editorial convergence at the Nation Media Group in Nairobi, Kenya. He previously edited the Daily Monitor in Uganda where he maintains a weekly column, and ran the Kampala bureau of The EastAfrican newspaper. His most recent book, Kizza Besigye and Uganda’s Unfinished Revolution, was published in November 2014.

Koliwe Nyoni Majama – Programme Officer, Media Institute of Southern Africa’s Zimbabwe Chapter

koliwe-majama-programme-officerKoliwe is a trained journalist with over 15 years of experience as both print and broadcast journalism and has contributed significantly to media rights lobbying and advocacy in Zimbabwe – particularly within the community radio and citizen journalist movements. She currently works as the Programme Officer for Broadcasting and Information Communication Technologies at the Media Institute of Southern Africa’s Zimbabwe Chapter (MISA-Zimbabwe).  Koliwe holds a BSc in Media and Society Studies.