The event that received great support from the Kenyan government brought together more than 50 media professionals, economists, academics and representatives of development agencies, civil society and UNESCO from the Eastern Africa Region. Through a combination of strategic plenary presentations reflecting different regional contexts, the role of the media in the development process and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, with special reference to poverty eradication was discussed.

Paying special attention to the role of media in the fields of empowerment, sustainable economic development and transparent, accountable, non-corrupt government, the meeting dealt with a body of emerging issues and resulted in the formulation of concrete recommendations and action strategies to safeguard freedom of expression and to tighten the nexus between media and development.

Issues that were dealt with included:

Role of media in poverty eradication;

Development of indicators to verify the commitment of media to eradicate poverty;

Potential roles of the media in advancing the development agenda;

Relationship between media and governments;

Rights based approach to communication and information.

Recommendations were made concerning:

Stakeholder relationships and dynamics, including the necessity of an ongoing dialogue to enhance public communication services as well as self-regulatory frameworks for the media;

The convergence of communication technologies, including the development of a regulatory framework, which as a minimum should protect media pluralism and the principles of universal access;

Policy and legal concerns with reference to press freedom and independence;

Measures to enhance the safety and professional standards of media professionals.