Africa Centre For Development Journalism 2023 Inequalities Reporting Fellowship Begins

The 2023 Inequalities Reporting Fellowship of the Africa Centre for Development Journalism ACDJ has commenced with a 2-day training workshop held on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 November 2023 with 12 journalists including Olufunke Fayemi of Voice of Nigeria.

The fellowship entails the two-day training, mentorship and implementation of a special fellowship report on a range of inequality themes having received a reporting grant from the ACDJ.

The 12 selected journalists emerged following a public application call and a careful review of 374 applicants from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).  The selected journalists are from Arise News, Nigerian Tribune, Daily Trust Newspaper, The Guardian Newspaper, and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) – Radio One, The Eagle Online, This Day Newspaper, Forbes Africa, Ripples Nigeria, Punch Newspaper, Vanguard Newspaper and Voice of Nigeria.

The Inequalities Reporting Fellowship is building the capacity of journalists to report on inequalities at sub-national levels. The fellowship is an activity under ACDJ’s Sub-national Development Data Accountability Reporting Project focused on inequality, underdevelopment, policy and governance. The project, part of a Collaborative Media Partnership Supported by the MacArthur Foundation through the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, had the inaugural edition in 2022 with 8 fellows emerging.

The Fellowship commencement follows closely on the heels of the 2023 ACDJ World Development Information Day Lecture held on October 31. The keynote speaker the UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria Matthias Schmale stated that “Storytelling is the media’s strength. By telling the stories behind the statistics, you can help mobilize support for solutions to development challenges, ultimately the challenges citizens must overcome to live more fulfilling and dignified lives.”

He also underlined that “The Nigerian public must be well-informed about the objectives of the 2030 Global Goals Agenda, the role of the Federal and State Governments in achieving the goals, the benefits of pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the Nigerian people, the struggles at the halfway point, and the outcomes of the recent Un Global SDG Summit.”

Dominica Nwabufo