After a competitive selection process, 13 young journalists have made it to the 2022 edition of the Next Generation Investigative Journalism Fellowship (NGIJ) hosted by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). The fellows, made up of seven females and six males, are from Liberia, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
The Fellowship is a new initiative by the MFWA to promote public interest, accountability journalism in West Africa through mentorship and training of young promising journalism graduates. It is also aimed at bolstering quality journalism that advances transparency and accountability in governance, and the promotion of human rights.
Under the Fellowship, the fellows will be hosted in Ghana for a comprehensive five-month mentorship with Fact-Check Ghana and The Fourth Estate, both being MFWA’s public interest and accountability journalism projects made up of seasoned journalists. They will receive intensive practical training to be able to conduct critical, high-quality, fact-based and in-depth reporting towards improving lives and promoting good governance through journalism excellence. Fellows will also be supported to produce compelling investigative and/or fact-checking reports. Each Fellow will deliver at least one significant report by end of the Fellowship and will receive a Certificate of Honour upon successful completion of the fellowship.
The MFWA launched the maiden edition of the NGIJ in 2021 which saw a cohort of 10 young journalists from Ghana participating in the Fellowship. This report, for example, captures a synopsis of some of the compelling stories produced and published by the first Cohort of Fellows holding authorities to account in the provision of basic amenities such as water, health facilities etc.
The 2022 edition received over 100 applications from Liberia, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Fellows were recruited through a competitive selection process including aptitude tests and interviews. This year’s Fellowship is supported by theUnited States Embassy in Ghana and the Dutch Foreign Ministry (through the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands).
Below is the list of the 2022 Fellows:
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- Forgbe Kloh -Liberia
- Victor Jones – Sierra Leone
- Marian Bangura -Sierra Leone
- Linda Essilfie- Nyame – Ghana
- Shadrack Odame -Ghana
- Thelma Amedeku-Ghana
- Philip Teye- Ghana
- Salifu Ayamdoo – Ghana
- Sedem Kwasigah- Ghana
- Norah Kwami- Ghana
- Diana Boakyewaa Amoako- Ghana
- Edmund Agyeman-Ghana
- Victoria Enyonam Adonu- Ghana
You may also want to read:
MFWA outdoors first cohort of investigative journalists
Becoming the next generation investigative journalist
Here’s how stories by MFWA’s journalism fellows are holding authorities to account in Ghana
Wearing the armour of the bold & courageous in journalism, here I come