Investigative journalism training programme in Burkina Faso: call for applications

Investigative journalism training programme in Burkina Faso: call for applications

As part of the Faso Medias 2 project, which aims to give journalists and civil society a greater role in the citizen-led control of public initiatives by working alongside local elected officials, CFI and UNALFA – Burkina Faso's national union of free audiovisual media outlets – are launching a call for applications for an investigative journalism training programme.

Training schedule

  • 3 days of 'general culture' training, from 10 to 12 April 2017
  • 9 days of 'investigative journalism/data' training: 13 to 22 April 2017
  • Completion of an investigation between late April and June 2017
  • 'Investigation/data/data security' training in July 2017
  • Writing up/presenting the investigation' training for the best participants in September 2017
  • Data-journalism enhancement training (for the most dedicated participants) in 2018.

Criteria for selecting candidates

  • You must be a journalist (radio, television, written press or online), blogger or member of a Civil Society Organisation involved in the citizen-led control of public initiatives.
  • You will need to be available to take part in 3 to 4 training courses each lasting from 6 to 10 days: a 12-day 'general culture/investigation+data' course (10 to 22 April 2017), a 9-day 'data-journalism/data security' course (June 2017), a 6-day 'data reinforcement' course (for the most dedicated in 2018), a 6-day 'writing up' course in late 2017.
  • You will need to be available to take part in an investigation to be carried out in the 2-month window between the 1 st and 2nd training courses, so that you can then move on to your own investigation. This will need to be completed by the time the 'writing up the investigation' training is held, in which you will be guided through the formatting of your investigation (paper, radio, TV or other) before it is published.
  • You must justify your interest in investigative journalism and the gathering of local data.
  • You will need to demonstrate your interest in citizens' concerns and issues of accountability (local, for example: basic social services, access to justice, etc.).

How to apply

Candidates wishing to apply to this training programme must submit to UNALFA, either by e-mail (unalfabf@gmail.com) or in person at its offices (located in the Cité Socogib, towards the '75ème anniversaire' district of Ouagadougou), an application dossier containing the following items:

  • a complete CV;
  • a document/voice file/blog on subjects to be investigated, at the very least;

N.B.: these should not be large-scale investigations but, in this instance, local investigations

  • a cover letter setting out the topics of most interest to you, and a subject of investigation on which you are working and for which you wish to receive guidance.

These items must be submitted by 24March 2017.

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