Citi TV and Citi FM presenter, AJ Akuoko Sarpong together with four others will be in Berlin to attend this year’s Re:publica, one of the world’s largest digital society conference.
AJ will be leading a team including Philip Ashon, Host of Citi Trends and Head of Production At Citi FM/TV; Apiorkor, Host of CitiScape and Media Content Producer at Citi TV; Nathan Quao, Head of Sports at Citi FM/TV; Sandister Tei, Assistant Programmes Manager, Citi FM/TV.
The five people will be speaking on the theme “Social Activism and Ghanaian Media: And How Ghanaian Media is Inciting Change Using Digital Tools.”
The programme starts from Monday, May 7 to Wednesday, May 9, 2019, in Berlin, Germany.
AJ’s team happens to be the only African team making a presentation in the Media and Journalism Track with over 44 sessions and about a hundred speakers.
More than 19,500 participants from 80 countries came together to discuss current issues of digital society at the three-day festival last year and more numbers are expected this year.
Re:publica participants represent a cross-section of digital society, which includes professionals from economics, politics, business, hacker culture, NGOs, media, and marketing, as well as bloggers, activists, artists, and social media experts.
Media professionals, entrepreneurs and academics from around the globe also share their knowledge and discuss the future of the information society
Starting as a cosy blogger meeting in 2007, Re:publica has since become a worldwide leading forum on the state and future of the digital culture.
Hundreds of speakers from over 80 countries gather in the Station Berlin, the conference’s venue near Potsdamer Platz, to share their knowledge with the audience.
These representatives of the digital culture include activists, scientists, NGOs, journalists, social media and marketing experts, amongst others.
During the three-day period, talks and workshops about various topics will be held, ranging from media and journalism, politics and society, arts and culture, next generation, business and innovation, science and technology, research and education, and mobility and city.
All talks and discussions will be streamed directly on the internet.
There will be speakers from governments all over Europe, heads of tech industries, innovators, researchers, among others.
About the Team Citi representatives for Re:publica 2019
AJ Sarpong
AJ Akuoko-Sarpong is a TV/Radio Presenter, Events MC, and voice over Artist and a TV/Radio Content Producer with a career spanning nine years and counting.
She has a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the Ghana Institute of Journalism and also a product of the University of Ghana with a Degree in Political Science and Theatre Arts.
She was formerly a part of the team of the award-winning Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM 97.3.
She is the host of one of the most popular shows on radio, “Brunch in the Citi”, a former host and content creator of 30 Minutes, Ghana’s first Social Media Interactive show on Citi TV.
She is also the Host of Hall of Fame on Citi TV.
She previously worked with the EIB Networks specifically, Starr FM, Live FM and GHOne TV as a presenter and producer.
She was also a producer and host of Weekly Girl Talk Show, Tales from the Powder Room, Live from the Capital Radio Show on Live FM amongst many other shows across the network.
As an Events MC, she has hosted quite a number of events including: Ghana Music Honor 2017, Ghana Events Awards 2017, Ghana Music Awards red carpet Host 2018, December to Remember Concert 2017/2018, Miss Communicator 2017, DSTV I Factory Showcase, IPMC 25th Anniversary, First Choice 20th Anniversary, Citi FM’s Keeping Love Alive Event, Mama’s Day of Honor, Family Day Out 2018 and Safer Internet Day 2018, Office of the 2nd Lady of Ghana in collaboration with UNFPA Dinner against SGBV, among many others.
AJ was one of the Stage MC’s of the maiden Re:publica Accra 2018 in December 2018.
She is also a writer, and has written for notable publications including, Glitz Africa where she wrote a column sharing her thoughts on the Media industry in Ghana and also a contributor on Citi FM’s website, citinewsroom.com.
Apiorkor Seyiram Ashong-Abbey
Apiorkor Seyiram Ashong-Abbey is an award-winning Ghanaian-American Poet, Writer, Literary Critic, Media Practitioner and Versatile Creative.
Her work is noted for its rare narrative, prosaic nature, which is uncommon, in poetry. She has also been commended for the sharp, vivid imagery of her pieces.
Living in Ghana, where oral literary traditions are intricately intertwined with deep culture and history, she performs within West Africa’s most sophisticated spaces and has been featured on two Tedx platforms.
Her performances are varied, animated; you can expect to see Apiorkor inject life into her poems, with Classical, Afro-pop, Reggae and Rock music forms, Contemporary Dance and alternative Art.
Apiorkor causes quite a stir, because the poetess chooses to read/recite her pieces on stage, rather than delivering them off memory.
She also has a West African Baobab Award, under her belt, having been awarded the “Literary and Community Building Award”, which was presented to her in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2016 and which acknowledges the achievements of Africans and non-Africans in building literate communities in today’s world.
When she’s not creating literary pieces, Apiorkor is most likely designing content, producing (or hosting) award-winning shows on Accra-based Citi 97.3 FM and Citi TV.
As a seasoned media practitioner, she is also a copywriter, a voice-over artist, an Events MC/Moderator and an advertising concept designer.
Editing and proofreading documents that span a gamut of topics and structures are a strength of hers, as well.
Additionally, her work at Citi FM and Citi TV, as an activist for Literacy & Numeracy, Arts & Culture and Socio-economic development has been well received.
Furthermore, Apiorkor is known for her use of New Media forms, in disseminating her Poetry and for the purposes of Activism/ Social Commentary.
As a Literary scholar, she might also be mentoring and teaching or lecturing young Ghanaians, focusing on anything from Literature, to social issues, to love and relationships, to career guidance. Editing and crafting pyramids of meaningful words tend to keep her occupied, as well.
Or she might be whipping up hors d’œrves for Ghanaian socialites, tasty meals for her adorable son and daughter, or romantic dinners for her husband, Frederick.
Sandister Tei
Sandister is an all-round media person – she does radio, videography and new media at Citi FM/ TV and in private consultancy.
She has been a facilitator for new media use in journalism trainings for iJourno, YALI Tech Camp, Voice of America, Impact Hub and the Jospong Group.
In her leisure time, she volunteers for Wikimedia Ghana User Group, a community of Wikipedia editors which she co-founded and also train people on how to edit Wikipedia.
She has formerly worked with AJ+/Al Jazeera and Joy FM.
Nathan Quao
Nathan Quao is the Sports editor for Citi FM/ Citi TV/ www.citinewsroom.com and he has been working with the media house since 2013.
He hosts the station’s Premier League Preview Show on Citi TV and their live radio broadcast of the Premier League on radio on match days.
He is also part of their sports discussion show “Sports Panorama” which airs every Friday evening from 7pm.
He won the 2015 Sports Excellence Award for the Best Radio Reporter.
Outside sports, he is part of the award-winning “Citi Breakfast Show” which airs on weekdays and anchors the “Citi Newsroom”, the station’s daily news programme at 8pm.
Nathan has a first degree in Translation and a Masters in International Relations and Diplomacy and he brings these varied backgrounds to bear on his work either in sports or in mainline news.
When he is not at work, Nathan loves to read and listen to rap music.
Philip Ashon
Philip Ashon is a communicator who specializes in gathering, interpreting and disseminating credible, reliable and impacting information across all forms of media to help audiences make high quality and informed decisions about their life.
He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from Cardiff University with a specialization in documentary filmmaking.
He has over ten years of multimedia and new media experience in Ghana and Cardiff, UK.
He is the 2018 recipient of the Eva Lokko ICT Journalist of the year award.
He is schooled and accomplished in copywriting, production and commercialising of radio and television content.
He heads Production at Citi TV and hosts Ghana’s number 1 technology literacy radio show, Citi Trends. He is a photographer.