Deadline: 26-Feb-25
The Earth Journalism Network is hosting a virtual media workshop in early May for environmental journalists in range countries in Africa seeking to report on the threats faced by great apes, particularly the impact of disease and other health considerations, as well as conservation strategies to protect these species and their habitats.
All great ape species—gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo and orangutan—are Endangered or Critically Endangered, while nearly all gibbon species are at risk of extinction. Despite targeted conservation efforts, great apes in Africa and Asia continue to face grave threats: disease driven by habitat fragmentation and crowding, human-animal conflict and the wildlife trade, both legal and illegal. The risk of zoonotic spillover due to human and great apes coming into closer contact is also increasing.
As part of EJN’s new project, Empowering Media for the Conservation of Great Apes in Africa, they are pleased to announce a virtual media workshop for journalists in African range countries seeking to deepen their knowledge of the threats faced by great apes (in the wild and in captivity), and the conservation solutions that must be scaled to safeguard animal, human and environmental health in the years to come.
Themes
- The sessions, structured as part-presentation and part-discussion, will focus on the challenges to great ape health and welfare, One Health approaches to great ape conservation, and ethical considerations related to the conservation of wild and captive apes. Storytelling techniques and strategies to improve audience engagement will be explored.
- Journalists will learn from researchers, policymakers and local communities working in the field of great ape conservation. They will have the opportunity to develop their story ideas, exchange sources and resources for their reporting and network with their peers.
- The final agenda of the workshop will be shared with selected participants in April 2025.
Benefits
- Journalists who participate in the workshop will:
- Gain a better understanding of the diseases threatening both wild and captive apes, with particular focus on how tourism, industrial development, natural disasters and research activity impact ape health
- Learn more about One Health at the human-ape interface and how protecting great apes and their habitats is essential not only for the species’ own survival but also for the well-being of ecosystems and human communities worldwide
- Understand the latest research efforts, ethical considerations and scientific findings related to great ape health and welfare
- Learn about how ape health is managed in areas where humans and great apes successfully coexist
- Become more familiar with national and international policies and treaties related to great ape conservation – and the challenges in implementing them
Logistics
- They plan to accept approximately 30-40 participants for the workshop. Successful applicants will be notified by early February.
- The workshop will take place virtually on Zoom over three days in early May 2025, with 3 hours of training sessions each day. They strive to choose a time that works for as many time zones in Africa as they can. It is likely this workshop will take place in the late afternoon or early evening for participants, so please take this into consideration when applying.
- To ensure these workshops are accessible, EJN will offer a limited number of communications stipends to those with an unstable internet connection in remote areas. Please indicate in your application whether you will require a communications stipend to ensure Wi-Fi connectivity during the training.
- Participants who attend all sessions will receive a certificate of completion from EJN.
- Participants who attend all three days of the workshop will also be eligible to apply for a story grant to produce journalistic work following the workshop, which will be awarded to up to 8 journalists.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants can be from range countries in Africa; i.e. countries where the great apes live in their natural habitats: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
- For the purposes of this training opportunity, they will only be accepting applications in English and French. Unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time. Applicants must have a working understanding of English or French to participate in and fully benefit from the workshop. Simultaneous English <>French interpretation will be provided.
- Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other media practitioners with experience covering conservation and/or One Health issues.
- They welcome applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—community-based, local national and international. They especially encourage women, rural, Indigenous and early-career journalists to apply.
- Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of generative AI tools, if any, to revise their proposals. EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, submitting AI-generated content as their own.
For more information, visit EJN.