www.misa.org us to be practically hands-on, working with the grassroots to understand the dynamics and changes our stakeholders face throughout the region. MISA is capacitating Chapters such as Angola to quickly move and get into the groove of things as defined by our values, mission, and vision statements. This has seen us venturing into previously uncharted territories and engaging traditionally considered taboo stakeholders, as they were the prime perpetrators of media violations. This has yielded mutually beneficial understanding with players such as electoral commissions, the police, and political parties. Similarly, MISA is going through a process of introspection on what could have led to the collapse of the Eswatini Chapter and how best we can engage with key stakeholders in that country on advocacy and media freedoms. This was unthinkable a few years ago! For example, the Elections Pledge in Lesotho in 2021 gave wings to a similar process in Zimbabwe. In turn, Zimbabwe deepened its engagement with the security sector under the Police-Media Action Plan. These initiatives significantly reduced the number of journalists who were attacked during the respective countries’ electoral periods. Similar projects are being replicated across the region. MISA Zambia will soon be commencing its engagements with the police. MISA Malawi is also working on a safety manual for journalists, which will be used to engage key stakeholders in ensuring the safety of media workers in that country. As you may be aware, Malawi will hold elections next year. Traditionally, political tempers tend to rise the year preceding elections when political parties have their conventions. Equally, in the spirit of strengthening our Chapters and motivated by our strategy, MISA Regional Annual Report 2023 Going forward, MISA will remain resolute in promoting its founding values. We are even more cognisant of the huge tasks and expectations ahead as we celebrate our victories. We have been following this script since 2021, when our Regional Governing Council (RGC) met in Johannesburg to chart the roadmap towards 2026. Therefore, in collaboration with key stakeholders, we must achieve the targets we set in our 2021 – 2026 strategy document. “ Similarly, MISA is going through a process of introspection on what could have led to the collapse of the Eswatini Chapter and how best we can engage with key stakeholders in that country on advocacy and media freedoms. 5