MFWA rolls out intensive practical training programme for West African journalists focused on enhancing their skills to ensure high-quality, in-depth stories on climate change.
This statement was originally published on mfwa.org on 24 November 2022.
Ten West African journalists have been selected for the 2022 Climate Change Journalism Fellowship (CCJF) of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). The 10 journalists, who were selected through a highly competitive process, are made up of five females and five males, with one Fellow each from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Nigeria and Ghana.
The Fellowship is a new initiative by the MFWA to promote climate change awareness and responses through increased and quality media reporting and public education on the ongoing climate crisis and its related effects across West Africa.
Participants will go through an intensive five-month training and mentorship programme beginning with a two-month virtual training and a three-month residential programme in Accra, Ghana. The Fellowship includes practical investigations and publications with Fact-Check Ghana and The Fourth Estate journalism projects of the MFWA.
During the period, Fellows will undertake rigorous investigations and fact-checking of issues related to climate change and associated challenges in their respective countries. Training sessions will be delivered by climate change experts from different backgrounds and institutions, and experienced journalists in the environment and climate change field.
Fellows will receive intensive practical training to be able to conduct critical, high-quality, fact-based, and in-depth reporting towards improving lives and access to information regarding climate-related issues. Each Fellow will deliver at least two significant reports by end of the Fellowship and will receive a Certificate of Honour upon successful completion of the fellowship.
At the end of the Fellowship, the 10 Fellows will serve as the foundation members of a West Africa Regional Climate Change Journalism Network.
In this maiden edition of the Fellowship, the MFWA received over 400 applications from 11 countries. This maiden edition of the Fellowship is being supported by the Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW Akademy).
Below is the list of the 2022 Fellows:
- Mawuédem Koffi Akotoh (Togo)
- Daouda Sow (Senegal)
- Adjimehossou Rodrigue Fulbert (Benin)
- Oumar Issoufou Adamou (Niger)
- Nana Samake (Mali)
- Sidibe Aissata (Guinea)
- Délorès Pie (Côte d’Ivoire)
- Madina Belemviré (Burkina Faso)
- Emmanuel Bright Quaicoe (Ghana)
- Janet Ogundepo (Nigeria)
