The International Journal of Contemporary African Theatre, Communication and Media Studies (CATCOMS) was launched to provide an online forum for the publication of academic articles and exchange of ideas between scholars interested in the affairs of the African continent.

The tremendous growth in the number of African Universities and other institutions of higher learning has led to a large number of African-based academics who are conducting research and writing articles about the issues and matters that concern their continent most. Their output may be prolific, but the channels of dissemination are often limited as printed journals of African origin often lack the funding to ensure quality and world-wide distribution.

The situation is equally frustrating for other researchers and writers based outside the continent who are denied access to this rich African collection of scholarly articles.

Our challenge at CATCOMS is to remedy this situation.

Articles in the First Issue