Joth Mpa

My personal highlight from yesterday’s #NextMediaTalks was a conversation with @francis_isano . But before I get into that, I was part of the @PacificEventUg_ team, supporting the event through Stage, lighting and sound. So I wasn’t just there to witness the celebration I had a small role to play in helping bring the experience to life. The event was a beautiful celebration of Ugandan culture, our stories, our people and everything that makes Uganda home. 🇺🇬 And in between the work, the conversations and the experience, I got the opportunity to interact with some of the people I look up to in the industry. One of my standout moments was meeting Isano Francis. We had a conversation about creation, photography and videography, and I walked away with two lessons that really stayed with me. 1️⃣ Stay hungry for what you do. Francis shared about his journey and the importance of remaining hungry for the craft. Step by step, he explained how that hunger has helped him throughout the seven years he has spent with the company so far. And I couldn’t help but laugh when he proudly said that he makes a living through “taking diagrams” — I mean, photos 😂📸. But behind the humour was a powerful lesson. Whatever you are doing, keep learning. Keep creating. Keep improving. Don’t lose the hunger. Something that starts as a skill or passion can eventually become your livelihood when you stay committed to it. 2️⃣ Use the platform you have to grow as you grow the company. This one really hit home for me. When you get an opportunity to be part of something bigger, don’t only think about what the platform can do for you. Think about what you can do for the platform. As you grow personally, contribute to the growth of the organisation, team or community you are part of. That kind of growth becomes mutual. Beyond my personal highlight, the event also marked an important moment for the wider Next Media family - the official unveiling and welcoming of Capital FM into the Next Media family, with CEO @KKariisa sharing his vision for the future of the media ecosystem. He spoke about making the media experience more relevant to young people, including making KIIS FM more hip, cool, visual and vibrant. He also spoke about Next Media’s ambitions around production and social media, as well as the need to keep pushing the media ecosystem forward through innovation and new platforms. Another interesting conversation was around MTN MoMo and using media not only to advertise services, but also to educate people and help them understand how to use them. For me, it was a reminder that media today goes far beyond radio and television. It is about storytelling, production, sound, lighting, visuals, social media, technology, education and experiences. And yesterday, I got to experience a little bit of all of that. From being behind the scenes with the Pacific Events team, working on stage, lighting and sound, to having meaningful conversations with people like Francis, it was a day full of learning. I came to do my part. I left with lessons. @francis_isano , it was a great honour having a word with you, brother. 🤝🏽 #NextMediaTalks #CelebrateUganda #PacificEvents