The Africa-China Reporting Project hosted two sessions within the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) programme this year; the State of Environmental Journalism Seminar on 15 October and the annual Africa-China Journalism Forum on 29 October.
The Africa-China Journalism Forum was moderated by Eric Olander, host of the China Africa Project and Podcast. The Forum is an annual gathering convened by the Africa-China Reporting Project (ACRP) to showcase investigations produced by journalists supported by the ACRP. The ACRP facilitates investigations illustrating on-the-ground impact and perspectives on how the lives of the people of Africa are changing amid the comprehensive phenomenon of Africa-China interactions. This year the Forum showcased investigations from 2019-2020 including selections from the North Africa-China Reporting Grant series; the Public Health Reporting Grant series; and the Digital Identity, Data and Privacy in Africa Reporting Grants series. The reports remind us that while we assess the realities of COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on African health systems and communities, Africa is still burdened with critical development questions around infrastructure; transport and communications, and digital identity, privacy and security.
The Forum panellists were:
- LIAM LEE (China) – Chief international desk correspondent, Ta Kung Pao Daily (Breaking the encirclement: The story of Chinese pharmaceuticals in Ghana)
- SHARON KIBURI (Kenya) – Independent journalist (A critical look at the current digital identity situation in Kenya)
- BRENDA ZULU (Zambia) – ICT journalist (Biometric citizen identification to enhance voter registration and identification in Zambia), and
- JONAS NYABOR (Ghana) – Multimedia journalist (Ghanaian engineers building the country’s first low-cost ventilators)
The AIJC is organised by the Journalism Department of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Conference is Africa’s biggest annual gathering of working journalists, it is an opportunity to share great African work, learn new skills, hear how it is done and share lessons and experiences.
See reports on previous ACRP Forums: