Barbara Kaija, the Editor-in-Chief at Vision Group has been elected to the supervisory board of directors for the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
She, alongside 10 other new board members, was elected during the WAN-IFRA annual general meeting (AGM) that took place on 17th June 2022.
“I will put in a voice for Africa, but also a voice for women. As we transition into digital media, women are still behind, not because they do not have the opportunities, but probably we are not challenging ourselves, ”Kaija said in response to the appointment.
Barbara noted that many female journalists who are excelling in the media industry from various media houses have benefitted enormously from WAN-IFRA’s programmes.
“We credit WAN-IFRA’s Women in News Leadership Accelerator Programme that is deliberately looking out for women journalists and helping them to improve. The media is still male-dominated but we hope to continue improving,” Kaija said.
Barbara Kaija joined New Vision in 1992 and has been the company’s Editor-in-Chief for over ten years.
Kaija has served in various capacities during her career such as; trainee sub-editor, features editor and deputy chief sub-editor at Vision Group.
Throughout the course of her career, Kaija has advocated for gender-sensitive media and professionalism.
Ugandan enterprises urged to explore regional oil and gas opportunitiesVision Group’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Don Wanyama applauded Barbara for being exemplary and acknowledged her support for other female journalists plying her trade.
“We congratulate her on this selection,” Wanyama said in New Vision’s Tuesday Edition.
Adding that: “We shall benefit a lot from your elevation. I am glad you are passionate about issues of women in the newsroom. The place of women in the newsroom is very important. I am glad [at] Vision Group we are sensitive to women issues.”
Carol Beyanga, Nation Media Group’s head of mentorship and partnership for NMG’s Ugandan unit, said: “We now have someone who will speak for us. WAN-IFRA is a global organization that is respectable. Barbara deserves the recognition because she has been in the game for long.”
The list of other new members who were elected to the board include:
- Lina Attalah, Co-founder and Director, Mada Masr Media, Egypt
- Marijana Bojanic, CEO, Vijesti, Montenegro
- Juan Pablo Bojanini, President, El Heraldo de Barranquilla, Colombia
- Alia Ibrahim, Co-founder and CEO, Daraj Media, Lebanon
- Mohit Jain, Executive Director, Bennett, Coleman & Co, India
- Caroline Jerotich Kimutai, Digital Editor, Standard Group, Kenya
- Patty Michalski, Sr VP Content Strategy and Innovation, Hearst, USA
- Agnes Kalekye Nguna, COO, Radio Africa Group Limited, Kenya
- Caroline Southey, Founding Editor, The Conversation Africa, South Africa
- Lay Lim Teo, CEO, SPH Media Ltd, Singapore
Vincent Peyregne, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at WAN-IFRA said: “Today’s announcement advances our ongoing efforts to expand the expertise and diversity of our Board and confirms that a growing number of women are taking up senior positions in the media. However, we are far from the parity we aspire to as an industry. I hope this and future elections will lead the way.”
The changes in the organization’s board of directors signal WAN-IFRA’s ongoing commitment to deliver on its strategic plan for diversity and inclusion that was initiated in 2017 and ensures that WAN-IFRA has the additional skillsets and experience to support future developments in various parts of the world that is an excerpt from a statement that was published on its website on 22nd June 2022.
