Rwandan Journalist Johnson Kanamugire has been selected for the African Union (AU) Media Fellowship, an inaugural programme started in a bid to help content creators to reframe the narratives about the continent.
He is one of a team of 15 African journalists, content creators and bloggers selected among 800 applications received from the continent and diaspora for the fellowsip programme run jointly by the Germany Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Mr. Kanamugire is multi-platform journalist with keen interest in public interest reporting. Over the years, he has developed compelling stories on issues in the lives of the ordinary people in Rwanda and the wider East Africa. Currently, he creates content for this Publication.
Others fellows are from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt, Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroon, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Niger.
The fellowship started this week with an international study trip to the city of Bonn and Berlin in Germany where fellows are holding two week-long intensive media and advocacy camp.
This will be followed by series of intensive training and execution of reporting projects in Africa.
“It’s an invaluable learning opportunity that I’m personally banking on to take my career to another level and, in particular, produce more impactful work. So many great things take place daily on the continent and in our countries but we rarely tell these stories ourselves in ways that reflect the needs of our people and this continues to give rise to stereotypes African story tellers need to break,” Kanamugire said.
“I’m greatly honored to be among the winners, and I’m grateful to the African Union and GIZ for investing in us.”
According to the AU, the Fellowship is in line with its agenda 2063, and is designed to provide a platform for African journalists and content creators to enhance their capacity to reframe African narratives and to ensure that stories about the continent are balanced and true to the experiences of its people.
The organization indicates that this is even more important as the continent moves into the 4th industrial revolution with emerging technologies.
“The fellowship seeks to ensure Africa remains in the race with the rest of the world, and benefits from digital transformation. It brings together innovation and creativity to present under-reported stories that break-down stereotypes and create new narratives for the Africa we Want.”
Global Media Forum
The fellows are scheduled to attend this year’s Deutsche Welle (DW) Global Media Forum, the international media summit hosted by Germany’s international public broadcaster scheduled from June 20-21 in Bonn.
More than 2,000 participants from over 140 countries hold discussions that explore opportunities to foster resilient journalism in times of crisis and reflect on how journalism can maintain its role as a reliable source of information, solution oriented journalism, the influence of digitization and others.
