The 2019 edition of the West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA) will host the Chairperson of the Information Regulator of South Africa, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, as the Guest of Honour. Advocate Pansy Tlakula, who is also the Former Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information to the African Commission, will speak on WAMECA 2019’s theme: “Social media, Fake news and Elections in Africa.”
WAMECA 2019 will be held on October 17-19, 2019 at the Swiss Spirit Alisa Hotel in Accra, Ghana. In addition to delivering the keynote address during Thursday’s Conference, she will make remarks during the Awards ceremony on Saturday.
WAMECA is an MFWA initiative that promotes media excellence in the West African region. The Awards Ceremony honours journalists who have produced compelling stories which have made a significant impact on society.
Profile of Advocate Pansy Tlakula
Advocate Pansy Tlakula is a former Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information and former Chairperson of the Working Group on Specific Issues related to the work of the African Commission. For 10 years, since 2005, she worked as member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). In 2015, she was appointed Chairperson of the ACHPR, a mandate she held until 2017. Advocate Tlakula also formerly served as the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa.
Currently, Advocate Pansy Tlakula is the Chairperson of the Information Regulator of South Africa. She holds a B. Proc degree from the University of the North (now University of Limpopo); an LL.B degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and an LL.M degree from Harvard University. In 2006, she was awarded an Honourary Doctorate in Legal Studies by the Vaal University of Technology.
Advocate Tlakula has held other high-profile positions in academia, public and private sectors including Chancellor of the Vaal University of Technology, Chairperson of the Board of the National Credit Regulator, Chairperson of the Council of North West University, National Director of the Black Lawyers Association, Senior Law Lecturer at the then University of Bophuthatswana (now North West University), and one of the founding Commissioners of the South Africa Human Rights Commission.
