STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 in a changing world: challenges and opportunities”10. In a statement, Information Minister, Dora Siliya, stated that it was is an honour for the country to have been picked to host the first of its kind conference in Africa. Among the key themes discussed at the Forum were digitisation, crisis communication and national branding. Alongside the World Communication Forum Africa Conference was a Women in Influence Conference which was opened by Vice President, Inonge Wina. The aim of the meeting was to discuss what challenges and opportunities exist for women from diverse backgrounds in a digital world. Further, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Conference was held, attracting 150 girls from around the country. The selection of Zambia as a host country for the inaugural Conference was a positive development which helped to market the country as well as provide an opportunity for media and communication practitioners to discuss various issues pertinent to the industry. It also helped to provide an opportunity for peer learning and benchmarking of best practices as the Conference hosed media practitioners from various countries. It is only hoped that the issues raised as part of the conference will be implemented at a local level and improvements noted in the local media landscape. Overall, the socio-political environment in the quarter under review was relatively calm with fewer violations (of less intensity) in comparison to the other three quarters in which ferocious politically-motivated attacks were witnessed against media outlets, with property damaged and individuals harmed in some cases. Further, the previous quarters also witnessed acts of censorship, such as the ‘closure’ of Prime Television in an arbitrary manner. The fourth quarter witnessed some positive media developments with regard to the socio-political environment, including collaborative efforts between the IBA and other stakeholders. Meanwhile, the threat of a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic remains imminent and is likely to affect the operations of the media again going forward. 3.2. LEGAL ENVIRONMENT The legal environment in the fourth quarter was quite eventful with landmark developments that highlight certain peculiarities of the media in Zambia. 10 Full Conference details, programme and materials can be accessed on the WCF website at http://www.wcfaglobal.com/wcfa-events/19/world-communication-forum-in-africa P a g e 20 | 56