The Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC) has today officially kicked off its first-ever flagship fellowship aimed at building the capacity of journalists with advanced digital journalism and multimedia storytelling skills in northern Uganda.
Bringing together a cohort of 17 selected journalists from across northern Uganda, the intense three-month fellowship dubbed “Telling Northern Uganda’s Stories in the Digital Age” is aimed at bridging the gap between traditional reporting and modern newsroom technologies.
The first week of the fellowship will cover areas such as foundations of digital journalism, data, and podcasting; mobile journalism (MoJo); post-production and the mini exhibition; freelancing and personal branding; and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT).
Sessions in the first week will be led by two experienced facilitators, Willy Chowoo, a data journalist, and Miriam Watsemba, a Canon Certified Trainer and photojournalist.
Other facilitators that will join the fellowship as it progresses include Edward Tumwine, a digital communications consultant and Project Officer at Media Focus Africa; Gaaba Lakel Maria, a strategic communications professional and Programmes Officer at the Uganda Editors’ Guild; and Alphonce Shiundu, a researcher and media trainer from Africa Check, specializing in information integrity, disinformation, OSINT, and AI literacy in Africa.
Bridging digital skills gap.
As media rapidly shifts away from traditional formats, most journalists in northern Uganda, much like upcountry reporters elsewhere, face unique challenges in keeping pace.
According to Alfred Oryem, the Executive Director of NUMEC, the fellowship directly addresses this disparity by arming media practitioners with high-level skills to enable them to produce quality journalistic content.
“The media landscape is shifting everywhere, and our journalists cannot afford to be left behind,” Oryem said. “We have many brilliant storytellers in our region who have the passion and local knowledge but lack the practical, hands-on skills required to navigate today’s digital realities.”
Oryem added that the fellowship goes beyond teaching new digital tools, adding that emphasis will be on practical sessions to enable journalists to enhance the quality of their reporting.
“By mastering these digital skills, the fellows will be able to bring the critical stories of northern Uganda to the global stage– with impact,” Oryem added
