Fellowships will support data-driven projects focused on gender issues.
Do you want to use data to tell stories about women in Africa?
Code for Africa (CfA) and WACC’s Who Makes The News programme have partnered to offer WanaData fellowships in five African countries: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
The initiative will teach fellows basic data journalism skills, or will help those with data experience to expand their skills by taking on more ambitious projects.
Up to six fellows will receive a $1,000 project grant each, plus intensive one-on-one mentoring and technical support from a large team of data analysts, digital designers, software engineers, multimedia producers and veteran journalists.
The fellowships are inspired by the sixth Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2020 report, which was launched in July 2021 highlighting both the continued invisibility of women’s voices in the media and of women journalists as influencers or decision-makers. CfA helped build the backend software that managed the latest research, and also helped analyse the resulting data. With 25 years of data, the GMMP study is the largest and longest longitudinal study on gender in the world’s media.
Read more about the report here.
The WanaData fellowships were announced at the African Investigative Journalism Conference 2021, and will use additional data from the five target countries to explore women’s representation and voices in the media including key challenges, barriers and opportunities. Stories produced will further showcase the implications of possible action points that can address these gaps.
The details of the fellowship are outlined as follows:
- Number of awards: Up to six fellows will be selected.
- Award amount: Each fellow will receive a US$1,000 story grant.
- Additional support: Fellow will receive hands-on technical training, followed by one-on-one project mentorship, along with support from CfA’s staff technologists, data analysts, multimedia producers, and editors.
- Publishing support: Fellows will publish their project in their ‘home’ media, but will receive support to also publish internationally.
Are you eligible?
Applicants must meet the following criteria
- You must be an established journalist or digital storyteller (such as a blogger or social media content creator) with a minimum of one year working in the media. You must have a portfolio of published work you can share.
- You must be based in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania or Uganda.
- You must be fluent in English.
- You must be affiliated with a media partner: As such you must publish/broadcast your work in mainstream media.
Complete this form to apply for the fellowship.
Deadline for submission: November 12, 2021
About WanaData
WanaData is a pan-African network of women data scientists, journalists, and technologists working to change the digital landscape by producing and promoting data-driven projects while applying digital technologies in storytelling. Founded in 2017 as an initiative of Code for Africa, a pan-African impact accelerator, the network is now in nine cities on the continent, with 90 women using journalism, technology, and data science for social good.
The primary aim of WanaData is to turbo boost networks of African women by deepening their expertise in tech, data science, and journalism and connecting them with experts and thought leaders from the continent and beyond. It also amplifies women’s voices and provides opportunities to fast-track their careers.
Want to be involved in WanaData?
- Join our community here
- Keep your eyes on the WanaData.africa website
- Follow us on Twitter (hashtag: #WanaData), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
