He is steadfast, soft spoken like a silent but rich mighty river. The man has creatively shaped Zambia and African film talent. He is an executive with a heart emblazoned with artistic zeal or bubbling with unmatched dedication to the call of duty. Behold, the man is an artistic champion.
We all attended the Grand Official Opening of the 6th Sotambe Film, Documentary and Arts Festival. He was accompanied by a principled coterie of subordinates from his Talent Factory office. What a super hardworking team from MultiChoice, as the main sponsors of the Festival. They attended and participated in all scheduled activities. The MultiChoice Talent Factory Regional Director Berry Lwando gave a highly scintillating and mental raving ode of a speech on the festival opening. He gave a deep and detailed narrative of MultiChoice in Africa. MultiChoice Talent Factory is cultivating creativity and film talent in Africa. Shaping Africa through young people and their creativity. That speech was worth a calabash of fresh spring water from my village “Tsime rokwaVaNhoro”.
For over three decades Berry Lwando has refined his skills and has held many titles, from senior executive in broadcast management to communications strategist and writer, though it is his extensive knowledge and experience as a broadcast trainer for mid-career broadcast professionals that makes him the ideal choice to be the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy Director for Southern Africa. His role as a communications skills trainer and mentor at the Zambia Institute of Mass Communication (ZAMCOM), which provides short-term media training for practicing media practitioners, has taken him across the English-speaking SADC region.
Berry Lwando gained in-depth knowledge of the broadcast production value chain when he served as the Director of Programmes for Zambia’s National Broadcaster and was responsible for strategy and programming across radio and television. Later delving into executive-level broadcast management as Director of Digital Migration at ZNBC, he was also integral in introducing Parliament Television — a screening of the National Assembly of Zambia — that was launched in February 2018. Berry Lwando carries both a decorated academic resume and an unmatched creativity profile. He is currently doing his PhD studies in Analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) switch over in Africa, strategic choices, challenges and current developments — Decision time for Governments and Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs). He holds a Masters Degree in Strategic Planning and Performance Management of Sport. Sports and media rights and media coverage and planning of international sports events and also an Award of Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication with a broadcasting emphasis (audio/visual) with a minor in the English language. Today MultiChoice Talent Factory is flourishing because his unwavering dedication to Arts, Film and Creative Processes.
MultiChoice Africa’s legacy is to showcase Africa’s diversity and rich culture through the continent’s deep-rooted storytelling history. The African entertainment industry is at the core of who we are and what we do. MultiChoice Africa recognizes the critical role we can play in building and strengthening the creative industries across Africa — our 17 local M-Net channels are available in a variety of regional languages, telling original African stories. As a business born and bred in Africa, MultiChoice has a long-term commitment to making a socio-economic difference, playing a key role — alongside government, various stakeholders, businesses and civil society — in growing Africa’s creative industries into vibrant, economic hubs. The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) is a shared-value initiative that provides a platform for the creative industries to develop their talent and engage with one another through their shared passions. This initiative has a multi-tiered approach, namely, the MTF Portal, the MTF Academies and MTF Industry Master Classes.
