Joy Doreen Biira

Background

Joy Doreen Biira was born September 5, 1986 to John and Beatrice Baluku in Kasese (Rwenzururu Kingdom) Uganda. Exposure to media arts at an early age played a role in nurturing her career path.

She completed UCE and UACE at Kyebambe Girls School in 2002 and Immaculate Heart high School in 2004 respectively. In September 2005, Joy joined Makerere University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. As an evening program student, in her first year, worked as a part-timer for the day hours with a Branding company (Branding Uganda Ltd) where she, at 19, dealt with operations and at the same time sneaked in on the Mass Communication classes at Makerere University. It was there that she reignited her passion for Media Arts.

Career

After her second year at Faculty of Information Technology at Makerere University, Biira deferred school into her final year to gain experience in the media industry. She was trained as a researcher on in-depth stories & general journalistic skills by experts in media consultancy giving her competitive advantage with the professionally trained journalists. She started as an unpaid volunteer/ intern and was later employed as a week day Morning Show co-host at (NBS Television) with Shawn Kimuli, broadcasting at the network's headquarters in the capital Kampala, Uganda.

The Morning Breeze on NBS TV, is a live broadcast of current news, Newspaper reviews, Interviews, Features and Live Entertainment. The show on commencement was the pioneering breakfast show on Ugandan Television. The show is Interactive and all people talk Show that addresses growing business power matters, health, sport and culture as well as relevant current affairs in a systematic and professional way with live-in calls. The show is viewed by in Uganda and across the East African Region.

The “Morning Breeze on NBS TV” is currently the number one breakfast show in Uganda. The show runs from 7am-10am Monday to Friday. Through on job training, Joy is now top news anchor for prime time news and also reports on political, business & entertainment stories across the country, where she conducts one-on-one interviews with different personalities (top politicians, business moguls, entertainment stars etc.).

On September 1, 2008, Joy was called by 91.3 Capital FM, the leading English radio station in Uganda, to audition for a radio show & with just the first round of the auditions; she was instantly taken on as Radio co-host of the weekend breakfast show - The Dream Breakfast show she hosted with "Hakeem-The-Dream" and later Shawn Kimuli. Her debuton Radio airwaves was on September 6, 2008. She grew to host 91.3 Capital FM's Sunday Drive an infotainment music variety show that included interviews, news & top music chats. While at 91.3 Capital FM her shows grew to be the most listened to shows on the weekend.

In 2009, Joy resumed classes for her degree course in Information Technology and completed the following year.

Joy Doreen Biira joined Standard Media Group in January 2012 as News Anchor and Reporter with Kenya Television Network (KTN Kenya). At https://www.ktnnews.com, Biira is a Prime Time News Anchor, Reporter and Show host. She hosts “Business Today”, a one hour show that airs across 12 countries on the continent. The show breaks down economic matters to its viewers while speaking to drivers of businesses identifying the gaps businesses across Kenya and Africa might have and seeking solutions to these challenges. Kenya being the economic hub across East Africa, business leaders, economists, and analysts make it their business to make an appearance on the “Business Today” show that airs every week day at 1400hrs East African time on KTN News.

Biira has engaged some of Africa’s great minds including Donald Kaberuka former President, AfDB , Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma former Chairperson African Union Commission, Mukhisa Kituyi Sec. Gen. UNCTAD; corporate leaders such as E. Africa’s most profitable company Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore, MD & Regional Head of SEACOM Joseph Muriithi, Barclays Kenya CEO Jeremy Awori, KCB Group CEO Joshua Oigara; Policy makers like Central Bank of Kenya Governor Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Kenya’s Foreign affairs Minister Amina Mohammed, Mining Minister Dan Kazungu, Tourism Minister Najib Balala, Finance Minister Henry Rotich; International Foundation Directors Dr. Ayo Ajayi the Gates foundation Director Africa Team, Mamadou Biteye Africa’s Managing Director Rockefeller Foundation Africa, Jamaica’s Foreign affairs Minister AJ Nicholson and heads of commissions in Kenya from across Africa among others.

Between 2013 and 2015, Biira independently produced content for and hosted a Pan-African show “Africa Speaks” whose main objective was to grow Intra-African relationships economically, politically and socially .

As Moderator, Biira has hosted events across Africa and beyond. She hosted, facilitated and spoke at the African Development Infrastructure and Convention #ADIC2016 organized by AFIDEP https://www.afidep.com in Zurich Switzerland, the Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa event organized by in Nairobi, Kenya and the Uganda Social Media Conferences among others. Some of the content from her moderation events has been aired on Television shows in the host countries and on shows she hosts.

Joy Doreen Biira’s versatility and flexibility to report on Africa’s current affairs (political, social, economic and cultural) has groomed her into an informed, confident, focused and respected News Anchor & Reporter, Show host, moderator, speaker, Strategic Communicator on issue based events across Africa and further afield.

At the beginning of January 2017 took on an additional role as host to International news environmental show Eco@Africa #EcoAfrica on which she co-hosts with Nigeria's Nneota Egbe of Channels TV. At the Uganda social media conference 2017, Joy Doreen Biira spoke about Press Freedom, Social Media and Fake News in the ever changing Media environment. This was precipitated by her arrest in November of 2016 by Uganda Police for allegedly "crossing the red line" during a military operation against one of the kingdoms in Uganda, the Rwenzururu Kingdom in which over 50 civilians were killed.

Personal Interests

Joy Doreen Biira has great admiration for nature and the environment, some say she is a passionate Environmentalist. The 30-year-old was among the brains behind the NBS Television Ltd “31 Million Ugandans, 31 Million Trees” country wide tree planting campaign in Uganda. The campaign was hailed and launched by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda on May 8, 2010. The project is part of a collective effort to mitigate the effects of global warming.

“31 Million Ugandans, 31 Million Trees” tree planting project also falls in line with achievement of the 7th United Nations Millennium Development goal, “Ensure environmental sustainability” as well as Uganda’s effort to achieve the same. The target was to integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources. Also reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss. Joy’s interests strike across Social, political, economic and cultural affairs in Africa and the international scene.

She runs a blog called Biira Foundation where she majorly blogs opinions on various topical issues