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Meet the winners of the first Africa D4D Journalism Competition

23.03.2022

Región o país
África
Kenya
Nigeria
Proyecto o iniciativa
AU-EU D4D Hub project

In January 2022, the African Union — European Union (AU-EU) Digital for Development (D4D) Hub launched the first Africa D4D Journalism Competition with the aim of supporting and giving visibility to African journalists who use online media to report on the impact of digital technologies on people’s lives across the African continent, and the policies needed to reap their benefits for sustainable and inclusive development.

In this spirit, we published a call for contributions asking journalists to submit high-quality and in-depth stories that contribute to raise awareness on the importance of building a digital economy and society that leaves no one behind.

The response to the call was extraordinary: 175 journalists from 36 countries sent us their entries in the form of podcasts, online articles, and videos. From leveraging digital tools to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, to overcoming the challenges of bringing connectivity to rural areas, the stories that we received were insightful, pertinent, and well-crafted.

From a first shortlist of 15 entries, our jury had the challenge of choosing the best stories based on the following criteria: objectivity, relevance, clarity, and principles. The task wasn’t easy, but we are pleased to announce the final results:

First place: Daniel Adeyemi (Nigeria)

Daniel Adeyemi is curious about how technology is impacting the lives of Africans. As a senior reporter at TechCabal, he writes mostly about big tech and high growth companies operating in Africa. He also shares insights from investors in the African ecosystem through a bi-monthly column called “Ask an Investor”.

Read his story: “Solving Africa’s tech talent problem: All hands on deck” published by TechCabal.


Second place: Wesley Langat (Kenya)

Wesley Langat is a Nairobi-based freelance journalist working for the Thomson Reuters Foundation. He is deeply committed to covering climate change, environment and agriculture in the East and Horn of Africa. He is also currently pursuing B.A. in Communication at Kabarak University.

Read his story: “Kenyan farmers tap apps to ride out COVID-19 and climate storm” published by Thompson Reuters Foundation.


Third place: Beth Karuana (Kenya)

Karuana Mwai is a science and health journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her stories have appeared on the Star Newspaper, Opera News Kenya, and the Kenya Free Press. Last year, she was selected as a journalist-in-residence for the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp (ITM) colloquium, where she provided coverage on COVID-19 disruptions on malaria, maternal and child care. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the Technical University of Kenya (TUK).

Read her story: “How telehealth promoted safe maternal care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya” published by the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp.

The first place winner, Daniel Adeyemi, will be invited to attend the e-Governance Conference in Estonia from 10–12 May 2022. The 15 journalists that made it to the shortlist will also be provided a free pass to attend the conference virtually.

Congratulations to all the winners from the AU-EU D4D Hub team!