The 2024 Kwame Karikari fellowship has selected 30 journalists across the West African countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia
The fellowship, which started in 2019 under the platform of Dubawa, an initiative of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID, is sponsored by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Declaring the fellowship open Via a Zoom meeting, the Chief Executive Officer of CJID, Dapo Olorunyomi, noted that accountability journalism was pivotal to the survival of democratic governance.
Mr Olorunyomi said Dubawa was founded to help set agenda and gatekeeping roles against proliferated digital space on fake news.
He charged the 2024 fellows to make good use of the opportunity to become great fact-checkers and professionals who would challenge the stereotypes, clinches, and change the narratives in West Africa.
Also speaking, the Program Director at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID, Mr Akintunde Babatunde, explained that fact-checking is essential to ensure accountability journalism in the digital space.
Earlier, the Program Officer at Dubawa, Roselena Ahiable, highlighted the expectations from 2024 fellows to include the monthly production of stories, the establishment of a fact-checking desk in their newsrooms, among others.
Olufisoye Adenitan of Radio Nigeria Positive FM 102.5 Akure is one of the journalists selected for the 2024 Kwame Karikari fellowship after a rigorous screening and interview.