Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro - President of WACC Africa, the ‘cradle of civilization’, has a higher proportion of people living on less than $1 a day than anywhere in the world. Wars and other conflicts, drought, and economic stagnation have caused millions of people to become poorer than just a decade ago. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV & AIDS and deaths from malaria. Children under the age of five die of treatable diseases, often due to malnutrition and lack of basic healthcare. Thousands of children are recruited to serve as regular soldiers, guerrilla fighters, porters, spies, sexual slaves, and even suicide commandos in conflicts in the Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda and Sudan. Almost one third are girls. Environmental degradation, water pollution, and food shortages add to the list of woes. And the latest Millennium Development Goals Report (2007) states that while only one region in the world is ‘on track’ to achieve all the MDGs, ‘the projected shortfalls are most severe in sub-Saharan Africa’. What has gone wrong? Why are global resources insufficient to tackle these fundamental abuses of human rights? How can communication play a role in contributing to change? First, if people can communicate their needs and concerns, they stand a better chance of mobilizing support. Genuine communication begins with dialogue. Second, if people have access to information and can exchange knowledge, they can work in solidarity and share scarce resources. Third, if people are empowered by communication that is participatory, builds community, and strengthens mutual understanding, they are more capable and more willing to work to bring about the drastic changes needed to transform Africa. Africa is a vibrant, modern continent that needs to communicate faith in itself. It needs those working in the mass and community media to project positive images and stories, to play an affirmative role in promoting peace and reconciliation. This is why WACC’s Congress on the theme ‘Communication is peace: Building viable communities’ is so significant. South Africa’s great president, Nelson Mandela, recalled in his Nobel Prize Speech, that we need ‘to demonstrate, in practice, that the normal condition for human existence is democracy, justice, peace, non-racism, non-sexism, prosperity for everybody, a healthy environment, and equality and solidarity among the peoples.’ These values lie at the heart of WACC’s mission and will be highlighted by Congress 2008’s theme of ‘Communication is peace’. Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro, President of WACC