The 20th edition of Africa’s largest gathering of working journalists came to a close on 1 November, with over 450 delegates from 55 countries around the world leaving Wits University richer for the experience in the knowledge gained and new connections made.
This included journalists, academics and media trainers from Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Colombia, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, India, Italy, Kenya, Korea North, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
“It was incredible to see old friends, and of course all the new young faces here,” said convenor Beauregard Tromp at the end of day three.
“Speaking to these young journalists and seeing how enthused they are about not only the projects and stories they’ve taken an interest to in the sessions, but also the kind of tools that are available to them and the heights they can work towards has been amazing.
“As always the speakers are the stars of the show, and they’ve been fatastic this year – well prepared and engaging even when bleary eyed and tired from the long days before, because they are just so keen to share their knowledge and learn new things themselves.”
South African journalist and winner of the Wits Centre for Journalism’s 2024 Taco Kuiper Award, Daniel Steyn, joined the AIJC for the first time this year.
“It’s been incredible talking to new people and learning new approaches to journalism, but more so it’s also humbling to learn about how tough it is in some African newsrooms, where journalists struggle with severe underfunding. Having access to the major journalism bodies like Bellingcat and even the smaller platforms around the continent have all given me something to take away. Seeing their processes and unique views has been extremely valuable,” he says.
Program Director of the Nigeria Media Innovation Program, Deji Adekunle, joined this year’s program as a speaker in day one’s keynote, “The future of journalism: navigating AI challenges and opportunities in the Global South.”
“This has been a great edition. I enjoyed the networking opportunities in meeting so many new people and getting new ideas. I really enjoyed the sessions looking at how we interact with other public interest groups, not just fellow journalists, and how we have to adapt to our audiences and know how to personalise our messages,” he says.
“In our session on the opening day we managed to discuss advances in AI, and share a few tips about how we need to work ethically with AI and use these tools in our newsrooms without losing our creativity.”
As has become tradition on the last day, the surviving delegates at the conference closing posed for a group shot outside the lecture halls before spreading out across the world again to do what they do best – tell truths, expose wrongdoing, and hold the powerful to account.
Until next year, thank you for joining us for another brilliant edition of the African Investigative Journalism Conference.
