IPO-Eastern Africa Network

What is IPO-EasternAfrica.Net?
IPO-EasternAfrica.Net is a news website focusing on community mobilsation and development by entrepreneurs, social transformers, media educators, and event organisers in the eastern African region.

Who owns IPO-EasternAfrica.Net website?
IPO-EasternAfrica.Net is owned, updated and maintained by IPO-Eastern Africa Network

What is IPO-Eastern Africa Network?
IPO-Eastern Africa Network for Independent Creative Content Producers–for TV and Audiovisual Media–in eastern Africa brings together practitioners from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, eastern Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Egypt.

How did IPO-Eastern Africa Network come to be?
IPO-Eastern Africa Network was created with the support of UNESCO in the framework of the 4th annual Lola Kenya Screen movie platform for children and youth in eastern Africa in 2009.

From which fields are members of IPO-Eastern Africa Network drawn?
IPO-Eastern Africa Network brings together independent audiovisual media content producers, creative & cultural entrepreneurs, social transformers, media literacy educators, and festival organisers in eastern Africa (aka Great Lakes or Horn of Africa).

What is the focus of IPO-Eastern Africa Network?
IPO-Eastern Africa promotes audiovisual media production as a tool for cultural expression, inter-cultural dialogue and socio-economic development.
IPO-Eastern Africa Network focuses on ‘developmental’ issues such as gender, gender-mainstreaming, agriculture, conservation and climate change without losing losing its target–children, youth, women and the marginalised.

What is the mission of IPO-Eastern Africa Network?
IPO-Eastern Africa Network is a regional network for independent development practitioners using multi (especially audiovisual) media to bring about socio-economic development across 13 eastern African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, eastern Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Egypt.

Focusing on the vulnerable segments of society—children, youth and women—IPO-Eastern Africa Network uses multi-media, especially movies, as a tool for cultural expression, inter-cultural dialogue and socio-economic development, highlighting issues such as gender, gender-mainstreaming, agriculture, conservation and climate change.

What does IPO-Eastern Africa Network believe?
IPO-Eastern Africa Network believes that unity of purpose in diversity cannot be stressed enough. With coordinated focus, the media—especially motion pictures—can be harnessed to hasten the socio-economic development of the region under focus; but only if the region subscribes to a common media approach, vision and strategy. IPO-Eastern Africa Network exists to act as a catalyst towards this end.

What solutions does IPO-Eastern Africa Network propose?
IPO-Eastern Africa Network seeks to bring together independent media content makers in 13 eastern African countries by streamlining activities aimed at developing the region’s movie sector; formulating strategies for key stakeholders, public sector organisations and Public-Private sector Partnerships (PPP) to complement and support their efforts in promoting the movie sector; providing services in the area of marketing, networking and information concerning potential opportunities; strengthening existing film festivals and forums as areas of movie promotion and distribution; increasing skills training, technological innovation, information technology, and infrastructure; and by helping improve coordination and efficient management of linkages and networks.

What does IPO-Eastern Africa Network promise?
IPO-Eastern Africa Network is committed to formulating, articulating, lobbying and pressing for issues that concern culturally-relevant and appropriate content-generation for socio-economic development in eastern Africa.
IPO-Eastern Africa Network is charged with the mandate of encouraging co-production, creation of a well-equipped and comprehensive productions database in the region as well as setting up of the regional fund for independent television, video and film producers by governments with the support of development partners.