Dataphyte, a leading media, research and data analytics organisation, proudly announces the induction of seven broadcast journalists as fellows in its Gender Mainstreaming Fellowship program, Cohort 2. These journalists were selected from a pool of over 30 applicants from 20 distinguished media organisations in the southwestern region of Nigeria.
Building upon the success of its pioneer fellowship program in 2022, this six-month fellowship program is an enriched sequel to empower more broadcast journalists in Nigeria with the necessary resources to harness data effectively in mainstreaming gender in the broadcast coverage of socio-economic and development themes.
Throughout the fellowship, which will run from June 2023 to November 2023, the selected journalists will undergo comprehensive training to produce data-driven, development-focused broadcast content. This approach aims to curb gender-blind reporting and gender stereotyping in news reports and amplify female voices and representation in media coverage.
During the virtual induction meeting, which took place on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, Joshua Olufemi, the founder and Executive Director of Dataphyte, emphasised the significance of data as a tool for bridging the significant representation gaps in media content as well as set gender equality as an agenda for state and non-state actors. He encouraged the fellows to leverage this tool to drive gender mainstreaming and elevate the experiences of women and girls in their communities.
Joshua Olufemi, the founder of Dataphyte, gave the welcome address at Dataphyte’s Gender Mainstreaming Fellowship Induction meeting.
Damilola Amoo, a broadcast journalist with CREST FM Ibadan, expressed her excitement at being selected to participate in this great initiative. She added that the fellowship programme would be a great avenue for her to highlight stories of women in her community and leverage her own experiences as a woman to deepen her programming.
Dataphyte Gender Mainstreaming Fellows Cohort 2 at the Induction meeting
Olufisoye Adenitan, a journalist from Radio Nigeria in Ondo state, also expressed her heartfelt appreciation for being chosen as a fellow and eagerly anticipates the opportunity to drive the gender equality conversation at the grassroots level.
Sakina Ahmed, a Cohort 1 fellow of Dataphyte’s Gender Mainstreaming Programme, and Anchor/Producer of ‘Taskaram Ngam Rewbe’ Fombina FM, Yola
Sakina Ahmed, Anchor/Producer of ‘Taskaram Ngam Rewbe’ on Fombina FM, Yola and a fellow from the Cohort 1 of Dataphyte Gender Mainstreaming Programme, said:
“My experience with Dataphyte’s Gender Mainstreaming Programme Cohort 1 has been transformative. I gained new perspectives on producing content, and with the valuable data provided by Dataphyte, our program, Taskaram Ngam Rewbe, delivered in Fulbe language, now produces richer content that addresses issues affecting women in Adamawa State.”
With the demonstrated impact of this programme on fellows from cohort 1, the Dataphyte Gender Mainstreaming Fellowship is set to make a lasting impact on media coverage and public discourse surrounding gender in Nigeria.
