InfoNile, a flagship initiative of Water Journalists Africa, and Media in Cooperation and Transition, invites applications from photographers and journalists with expertise in photojournalism in the Nile Basin countries for the 2024 #EverydayNile Photojournalism Project.
The #EverydayNile photojournalism project is designed to document and capture everyday life on the Nile. It further aims to promote cooperation and understanding of the water issues around the Nile River as a shared natural resource.
The year-long project will support 10 photojournalists to tell science-based water stories by visualizing under-reported issues of the Nile River and its biodiversity through photography under the theme “Water and Biodiversity in the Nile Basin.”
Pitches can focus on water-related topics and/or biodiversity-related topics along the Nile River (and its tributaries) and communities living near the Nile.
The program is conducted with support and partnership from IHE-Delft Water and Development Partnership Programme, JRS Biodiversity Foundation, the Nile Basin Capacity Building Network Foundation, FOTEA, and GIZ.
Background
The Nile River, the world’s longest river, stretches through 11 countries in Africa and supports millions of people. This basin is also one of the world’s most biodiverse regions – but is highly threatened by climate change, which is causing increasing droughts and floods, leading to disasters, and worsening water scarcity and Biodiversity for the region’s fast-growing population.
The media has found challenges in reporting issues on the Nile to attract the public and the science world with information and visuals that give knowledge and understanding.
The usual environmental, climate change and data stories remain boring without reaching the youthful audiences or policymakers on the platforms where they mostly engage. Media houses have limited resources to train journalists to understand and communicate stories using photography, data and scientific information. Journalists also have limited resources to enable them to cover in-depth stories that are of interest to the public and can contribute to change in the water and environmental sectors.
About the Training
The selected journalists will go through training in photography in water and biodiversity in the Nile Basin and mentorship as they produce their photo stories. The program will include in-person training (the first to be held tentatively in February 2024) and ongoing online training and mentorship.
During the six-month mentorship program, the photojournalists will be equipped with skills and knowledge in photography and science journalism and interact with identified scientists.
Each photojournalist will identify a scientist to share information and experiences around transboundary themes such as groundwater, gender, and climate change during production of the story.
During the program, the journalists will produce different photo stories capturing everyday life around the Nile in their respective countries.
The photo stories will then be published in different media houses in the Nile Basin countries, the Niles websites, the @everydaynile Instagram account, and the InfoNile website, along with potential other publications.
Later, InfoNile and MiCT will hold a series of exhibitions on various photo stories in selected countries in the Nile Basin along with science cafes that base conversations around the photo stories’ topics after the program.
Exception: Tanzania and Egypt
The journalists from Tanzania and Egypt will be paired with water researchers selected by the Nile Basin Capacity Building Network Foundation to guide the communities of research in implementing the PhotoVoice methodology of participatory visual research. Based on the scientists’ research topic, the journalists will guide the community members in taking photos of issues raised in the studies. The photos will later be exhibited from that specific community with discussions held thereafter. The journalists from Tanzania and Egypt are also expected to relate their own photo stories to the themes of the scientific research studies.
Eligibility
The program is designed for photographers and journalists working in the Nile Basin with interest and experience in photography.
Journalists will share their previous works on photography or a link to their work that will be used by judges to evaluate performance for consideration in the program.
How to Apply
Please submit your application by filling out this form
Application deadline: 14th January, 2024
