After a rigorous selection process, twenty (20) journalists have made it to the maiden edition of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Journalism Fellowship organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). The Fellows, comprising 13 males and seven females, are selected from Benin, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Togo.
The DPI Fellowship is an initiative of the MFWA aimed at increasing the knowledge and skills of journalists to produce compelling/impactful reports on DPIs and to increase public awareness and access to information on DPIs. It also seeks to promote and ensure that the uptake and adoption of DPI in West Africa is inclusive, safe, and equitable.
The Fellowship, which is set to start this month, from September 18 to December 18, 2023, will feature both virtual and in-person sessions. Over the course of the Fellowship, the 20 Fellows will participate in several training sessions on DPI with assignments and presentations; attend editorial meetings, and engage in the production and publication/broadcast of in-depth, well-researched, and impactful stories on DPI. In the first and second weeks of November, the Fellows will gather in Accra Ghana for two weeks of in-person trainings, experience-sharing sessions, and institutional/field visits.
As a form of remuneration, each fellow will receive a monthly stipend of $500. To further the uptake and publication of DPI-focused stories, their respective news media organizations will also receive a monthly stipend of $700.
Each fellow is expected to produce at least two reports on DPI each month and at least three compelling stories by the end of the Fellowship. Stories produced by the Fellows will be published in their respective news media organisations. Fellows who successfully complete the programme will receive a Certificate of Honour.
The maiden Digital Public Infrastructure Journalism Fellowship programme is supported by Co-Develop. It received over 300 applications. Fellows were recruited through a competitive selection process including rigorous separate interview sessions with applicants and their editors.
Below are the 2023 DPI Journalism Fellows:
