Agoué, Benin -- In preparation for drafting Benin’s legislation as the basis for the country’s analogue to digital migration plan, Meredith Beal was one of four international experts presenting case studies of the legislative frameworks used by various countries in drafting their legislation.

The Benin National Digital Summit brought together television station owners, ministry and regulatory body officials, engineers and others from throughout the country to set in motion the nation’s television migration from analogue broadcasting. Beal shared cases studies from Tanzania and Kenya while Eve-Lise Blanc- DeLeuze from IFA, presented the frameworks from France. Edmund Fianco detailed Ghana’s approach and Justin Aime from the TRB in Cameroon shared his country’s experiences.

Benin’s Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Communication, De Souza and Information Technology consulted the former Permanent Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Dr. Bitange Ndemo, looking for an expert who could present the information they needed. Ndemo referred Beal who he had collaborated with on Kenya’s digital migration efforts.

During the five-day summit, Beal also held discussions with Benin’s Minister of Information Max ______ about organizing a training workshop on digital migration for Francophone countries in West Africa. Beal has been conducting workshops on a regional basis around the continent on behalf of the African Media Initiative since he arrived in Africa in 2011. In addition he wrote a pamphlet to help television station managers charged with implementing their stations’ plans.

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