From 4-5 December 2025, Addis Ababa will host a landmark event that promises to reshape the conversation around gender and media on the African continent. The African Women in Media (AWiM) conference, now in its 9th edition, will convene at the African Union Commission headquarters, bringing together journalists, policymakers, academics, and advocates from across the globe who are determined to challenge the way women experience and are represented in media spaces.
AWiM25 carries the theme “Beyond Commitments: Advancing Policies for Gender-Safe Media.” The choice of Addis Ababa, the political heart of Africa, is deliberate. By situating the gathering within the AU Commission, AWiM signals its intent to move dialogue into the corridors of power where policy meets practice. This is not just a space for speeches and panels. It is a working forum where ideas will be tested against realities, and participants will build concrete strategies that align with frameworks such as the AU’s Continental Strategy on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and the Kigali Declaration.
One of the striking elements of AWiM25 is its emphasis on collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference where audiences listen and disperse, this gathering invites participants to join Communities of Practice. These groups will be formed around shared goals and will serve as incubators for long-term action. The process ensures that what begins in Addis Ababa does not end in Addis Ababa. Instead, it travels home with participants, influencing newsrooms, universities, and civil society networks across the continent.
The conference also continues AWiM’s long tradition of putting African media women at the center of storytelling. From powerful keynote addresses to intimate breakout dialogues, attendees will hear firsthand experiences of navigating hostile environments, pushing against stereotypes, and building alternative narratives. The result is an atmosphere that is both inspiring and unsettling in the best way, because it demands that we question the structures we have taken for granted.
Media partners will find AWiM25 a rare vantage point. It is not every day that an event combines the political weight of the African Union with the urgency of grassroots voices. The juxtaposition of diplomats and editors, activists and entrepreneurs, creates conversations that are raw, sometimes uncomfortable, but always necessary.
For Africa’s media landscape, AWiM25 could mark a turning point. The stories that emerge from Addis Ababa will ripple across news cycles, influencing how gender safety is reported, how newsroom policies are designed, and how audiences think about their role in demanding accountability.
As preparations move forward, anticipation is growing. There is a sense that AWiM25 will not only reflect on the state of media but will also carve out new possibilities for what media can become when it truly centers women’s rights and voices. In Addis Ababa, at the heart of continental governance, a different kind of media future will be imagined, and perhaps, set into motion.
You too can be a part of this, buy your ticket at awim25.africanwomeninmedia.com today!
