On Wednesday 12 August, the opening ceremony was held in the presence of:
- Prof Kavi Kumar Khedo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mauritius
- Mr Hendrik Sittig, Director Media, KAS Media Africa
- Mr Shezhad Joomun, Board Secretary, Media Trust of Mauritius
- Prof Franz Kruger, NLA University College Norway and President of Ajen
- Mrs Christina Chan-Meetoo, Senior Lecturer, University of Mauritius, and Convener of Ajen 2026
The opening ceremony was followed by a keynote address by Mrs Selvina Chadien Sungeelee, Responsible Officer News at the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation and the annual Adenauer Media Lecture by Prof Claudia Nothelle from Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Her theme was “Video didn’t kill the Radio Star. AI won’t kill us”.
The day was also marked by two panel discussions.
The first one, with Dr Azhagan Chenganna, Mrs Aline Groëme-Harmon, Mrs Ruquyya Kurreembocus-Raffique, and Mr Vel Moonien, focused on Mauritian media.
The second one, with Assoc Prof Sisanda Nkoala, Ms Ameerah Arjanee, Mr Khalil Cassimally, Mr Abdoollah Earally and Ms Pheladi Sethusa, focused on entrepreneurial and freelance journalism.
Finally, the first academic track on Artificial Intelligence and Journalism Education, moderated by Claudia Nothelle, presented papers by Theodora Dame Adjin-Tettey, Nancy Booker, Linda Mujuru, Christina Chan-Meetoo and Sara Namusog.
This article was originally published in Ajen Newsletter on September 8, 2026.