WSCIJ Set To Host Female Reporters’ Leadership Programme, Awards

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) is set to host the fifth edition of the ‘Female Reporters’ Leadership Programme (FRLP) fellowship induction and award presentation ceremony that continues to empower and support female journalists.

Scheduled t on Monday, 4 September, 2023 in Lagos, the event will confer fellowships on the twelve female reporters and also award some for exceptional performance

In a statement signed by Motunrayo Alaka, Executive Director and CEO of WSCIJ, she said that the 2023 cohort of the Report Women FRLP Fellowship is a component of the Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement project supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is “designed to champion improved representation of women as leaders in news and newsroom through capacity development for female reporters, strategic engagement with media executives and staff.”

It added the Report Women ‘Female Reporters’ Leadership Programme’ fellowship which started in April with a physical 3-day training and a continued four-month mentorship.

“The 12 selected participants were supported to execute leadership projects to enhance the leadership roles of women within the newsroom and published story projects focused on women and girl-child issues. The induction and awards ceremony will officially confer the fellowship on the 2023 Report Women Female Reporters Leadership Programme.

“The published stories cover a wide range of topics, including the effects of insecurity on the health of displaced women and children, human rights violations and unethical practices in surrogacy facilities, delays in justice for SGBV cases, the dearth and struggles of female coaches in a male-dominated athletics leagues, upholding women’s inheritance rights, the dangers of traditional birth attendants in rural areas of the northeast, and the exploitation of female cleaners in some parts of the north-central.”

Some of the recipients (inductees) include Maryam Abdullahi of The Cable Newspaper, Ijeoma Okereke from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Karina Igonikon of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC News), Folashade Ogunrinde of TV360 and Martha Agas of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Others are Blessing Oladunjoye, BONews; Olufisoye Adenitan, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); Yemi Olus-Galadima, Making of Champions; Sarah Ayeku, TVC News; Zubaida Ibrahim, Humangle; Fortunate Ozo, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Bamas Victoria of International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).

According to WSCIJ, these 12 inductees were selected from 173 valid applications submitted across Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, and Kenya, adding that the twelve inductees join the growing list of 74 fellows that has been since the inception of the fellowship in 2017.