The International Media Forum South Africa will take place for the second time in Johannesburg on 21st and 22nd May 2008 at The Forum, Bryanston and brings together senior editors from the world’s most important media with South Africa’s leading business decision-makers, government officials and communications professionals.

In its first 13 years of democracy, South Africa has experienced higher levels of consistent economic growth, and lower levels of inflation, than at any time in the last century. It is considered an increasingly attractive destination for investment and tourism, with more than 7 million visitors a year.

However, there is still a major challenge ahead in communicating what the country has to offer to the international investor community and in building international confidence in the country and its companies to attract the levels of foreign direct investment and international trade that will be necessary for the future.

In order to ensure its ongoing growth and success, South Africa must utilize international media, both traditional and new  to advantage to project its shortcomings and its potential in a way that will attract international trade and investors in large numbers.

The International Media Forum has been designed to focus on this crucial subject of communications. It brings together some of the most important people from the world’s media and communications professions with South African’s and other stakeholders in the country’s future from business, government, public relations, politics, communications, marketing and enterprise.

The Forum will provide critical dialogue between those who shape South Africa’s image abroad and South Africans who have the power to change their future for the better by the way they communicate the events taking placing in their organizations and their country.

The media landscape is changing and the International Media Forum South Africa will answer the question as to how to manage future international media relations for success and will provide the tools and contacts to put it into practice.

In just two days delegates will gain the kind of media understanding, training and contacts for positive media coverage and which would otherwise take months and a significant investment in PR services to achieve.

Points for discussion:

• How do international communications affect the economic development of South Africa?
• How important is the South Africa story globally compared with other advancing world economies and how can SA use the media better to compete?
• How is the media changing as a result of new media take up, and what does new media offer companies, organizations and countries, and how can it be harnessed for advantage?
• How can you get your organization and its missions covered in the media for positive results?
• How do leading international players use media relations to their advantage?