Until last week I was unaware of the politics surrounding this event. Apparently the fees to attend the Congress and Forum are high and out of reach for many Africans.

The Association of Independent Publishers (AIP) in South Africa told me that most of its members are unable to attend because of the fees. It costs almost 2000 Euros for delegates. There is, however, a special price for African editors and publishers. The National Association of Newspapers (NASA) made a deal with WAN about the prices and now considers them 'fair".

Reduction?
The price is now 1100 Euros for African newspapers and 550 for regional, local or community newspapers. Fair enough, that is a major reduction. But 550 Euros is about 6000 Rand while the average reporter of a community newspaper only makes about R1000 a month. Do you think he/she will go to the Congress?

Another thing that"s strange is that poorer countries in South America or where-ever else don"t have access to this special fee system. That sounds unfair to me. Think about the additional costs like transport, a flight from Mexico to here doesn"t go for less than 2000 Euros.

Also, WAN argues that they did sponsor 130 African journalists and editors so that they will be able to attend. I understand that WAN is a non-profit organisation and being able to do this is extremely nice.

But now what about organising a worldwide congress like this WNC that brings so many people together without the expensive dinners and gala"s? And without inviting expensive speakers like Nelson Mandela? Where do the costs come in? Is it for hiring the venue?

Grassroots newspapers
There are many smaller African newspapers attending but many are part of the Media24 or any of the other five major news companies in South Africa. According to the AIP only four grassroots newspapers from Africa are attending. That is of course nothing on the bigger scale of things. I wonder how many grassroots publishers from other poor continents will be there?

Another issue, that I only recently stumbled on, is that there is no-one attending from Swaziland. At the moment there is a 'free-press" in Swaziland but a new Constitution is going to mess the situation up badly. But not a single person at the Congress to deal with this, will it just be forgotten?

All in all I do believe that the Congress is a major step forward for South Africa, to host such a big event is wonderful. Above all, if it wasn"t staged here, less Africans would be able to attend. Which country will invite WAN next? Come on Ethiopia, Nigeria, or Mali; the infrastructure is there. Why not use it?

Well, I will be attending the Congress in Cape Town and I"ll let you know how I experienced it in a later blog. Are you going?

Check out some of the photos I made at the Congress here