Forty-five journalists from 45 news media organisations in four countries have been selected as Fellows for the second phase of the Digital Public Infrastructure Journalism Programme of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-Develop.The second phase builds on the foundation of the maiden edition and aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of the selected journalists in producing impactful stories on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Digital Public Goods (DPGs) in the four project countries, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo and across the West Africa region.The DPI Journalism Fellowship is an initiative of the MFWA and Co-Develop aimed at increasing public awareness and access to information on Digital Public Goods (DPGs).
The fellowship also seeks to promote and ensure that the uptake and adoption of DPI in West Africa is inclusive, safe and equitable.After a thorough selection process, the 45 fellows were selected from a pool of 291 applications received for the second phase of the prestigious Fellowship programme.
The Fellows comprise 28 (62%) males and 17 (37%) females from Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.The Fellowship will run from November 6, 2024 to January 31, 2025, with post-fellowship activities running till April 2025. The selected journalists will engage in multiple training sessions on DPI/DPGs and receive editorial support to produce in-depth and well-researched stories for publication or broadcast.
Additionally, the selected Fellows will have access to a dynamic dedicated DPI/DPGs website that provides more content on DPI/DPGs development in West Africa and Africa and also features impactful stories produced on DPI/DPGs from across the region.