Applications Open for Digital Africa Challenge Program

Deadline: 22 October 2017

The Digital Africa is inviting applicants for its Challenge Program that is an innovation competition to take up the challenge of digital transition in Africa.

The first edition of the Digital Africa contest, launched in October 2016, received more than 500 entries and rewarded 10 startups winners who convinced the jury by the potential impact of their innovation. Strengthened by this success, AFD and Bpifrance confirm their commitment and renew the experience with the objective of accompanying in the long term the emergence of mature and solid digital ecosystems, bringing new economic opportunities.

Themes

• Territories: Not all territories are equal in access to new technologies. Innovation may be a factor of inclusion and reduce digital divides, distances between business centers and landlocked areas.
• Citizenships: Modernization of public action, democratic transition, new media: digital technology allows the expression of new citizenship and a diversity of opinions.
• Knowledge and Creativity: From access to tools, to their mastery through capacity building, and their mobilization to serve new forms of creative expressions, digital revolutionizes learning patterns and professional practices.
• Environment and Climate: Want to offer innovative digital technology for the agricultural sector? At the crossroads of meteorology, resource optimization, food security, mapping or geolocation. Do you think you can provide relevant technological answers to the challenges of agriculture today and tomorrow?

Benefits

• All the startup winners of this second edition of the Digital Africa challenge will benefit from a high visibility and access an international network of partners, clients and investors. They will be part of a community that gathers the best talents of digital innovation in Africa and for Africa, in order to share experiences and good practices.
• The 5 African winning startups will be accompanied by the AFD through an “acceleration pack”, a customizable, technical and financial support up to a 30.000 Euros value.
• The 5 French winning startups will be accompanied by Bpifrance up to a 10.000 Euros value support pack to strengthen their expertise and develop new opportunities on the African continent: Bpifrance Université training, networking and discovery trip to Abidjan and Cape Town with the French entrepreneurs community in the French Tech Hubs.

How to Apply

Applicants can apply via given website.

Eligible 

For more information, please visit Digital Africa.

Creativity contest accepting applications [MENA]

Innovative professionals ages 45 and younger can compete for an award.

The Arab Thought Foundation is accepting nominations for the Arab Creativity Awards. The awards aim to stimulate emerging talents in the fields of media, social, scientific, technological, economic, literature and arts.

Works must have been produced in the past four years. Innovation in media includes print, online, documentary and social media projects.

The winner in each field will receive US$25,000, an award shield and a certificate.

The deadline is Nov 30.

For more information (in Arabic), click here.

Thomson Reuters seeks business correspondent [Russia]

Journalists who have experience of real-time financial journalism and proficiency in Russian and English can apply for this position in Moscow.

Thomson Reuters is looking for a correspondent who can inform a global audience about Russia, its businesses and its economy.

The correspondent will report daily news on Russia and build and maintain sources among economic policy-makers.

The successful candidate must have at least two years of experience in a news agency or similar environment and knowledge of Russian business and the economy.

Proficiency in Russian and English is mandatory.

For more information, click here.

IFJ condemns soldiers invasion of Abia NUJ Press centre in Nigeria

International Federation of Journalists

Press Statement
20 September, 2017

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemns the unwarranted invasion of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Umuahia, Abia State by soldiers on 12 September 2017.

On 12 September, a group of soldiers broke into the Press Center of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), an IFJ affiliate, in Umuahia, Abia State in Nigeria and attacked journalists and destroyed equipment. The attack took place a few days after three journalists
were brutalised by the officials of the Department of State Security in Osun State.

 In a Press Statement the NUJ expressed grave concerns in regards to the invasion of the press center condemning “ in totality the conduct of the army at the NUJ Press Centre in Umuahia, Abia State” and demanding “ immediate investigations into this macabre act”. The union
also asked for  an apology from the Chief of Army Staff for the reprehensible conduct of his soldiers and demanded that they be brought to justice.

The NUJ has also demanded payment for the medical bills of those who sustained injuries, as well as compensation for the furniture and equipment destroyed by the soldiers.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “We are deeply shocked by the attitude of these soldiers and see this attack as a deliberate act of intimidation designed to cow and silence the media.  We ask that the attackers be brought to justice immediately and demand that the Nigerian government set the necessary conditions for journalists to carry out their duties without fear or intimidation”.

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Investigative journalism grants available [Europe]

Journalists with ideas for cross-border stories can apply for research grants.

Journalismfund.eu is offering grants to teams of journalists based in several countries working on a common story, which must have a European or cross-border theme.

Applicants must demonstrate that the project is unusually costly in such a way that the normal support of publishers is not enough for the project to be realized. The story must also be published for multiple audiences in several countries.

Each proposal will be assessed according to 10 criteria. Journalismfund.eu supports costs related to journalistic research for all media. This can include travel, translation, access to pay-databases or simply time to research.

Journalists from a Council of Europe country are eligible. When relevant for the story team, members outside these countries can be accepted.

The deadline is Nov. 20.

For more information, click here.