By Vera E. Abah
THE 17th Wole Soyinka Awards for Investigative Reporting is scheduled to hold on Friday, December 9, 2022 at NECA House, Hakeem Balogun Street, off Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.
The announcement is contained in a statement by Mrs Motunrayo Alaka, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (ED/CEO) of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).
Already, a shortlist of 13 investigative journalists from the print, online, photo, editorial cartoon, electronic (radio and television) has been made and submitted to the WSCIJ by the chair of the 2022 board of judges, Prof Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika.
According to the statement, the annual event will be preceded by a conference under the theme: “In-depth Media and Democratic Governance,” scheduled to hold December 8th–9th, 2022 by 10am.
The conference will climax with awards to outstanding investigative journalists from print, electronic, online, cartoon and photo genres for their ethical reporting courage, individual creativity and public benefit as from 3pm on Friday, December 9, 2022.
The statement further noted that the conference “seeks to ensure that the work done by investigative reporters and the voices of marginalised people it seeks to defend, are amplified.”
Tagged: “The Amplify Media Conference and Awards,” the event, the statement said, will serve as “a platform for conversations, debates and learning on investigative reporting and its importance for accountable democracy and social justice.”
The two-day event, which is a collaborative effort of representatives of the Media and Journalism (MAJ) cohort of the McArthur Foundation, is planned to have multiple panels, some of which will be held simultaneously.
The Keynote speaker on day one of the conference plenary, Prof Lai Oso, of the School of Communication, Lagos State University, is schedule to speak on the sub-theme: “Investigative journalism and democracy in an election season – How IJ shapes election outcomes and deepens good governance.”
The plenary will be moderated Jimeh Saleh, Editor, BBC/MacArthur Foundation Partnership Series while panelists for the session include Anas Anas, Undercover reporter/Founder, Tiger Eye Foundation, Ghana; Yemi Adamolekun, Executive Director, Enough is Enough (EIE) Nigeria; and Idris Akinbajo, Managing Editor, Premium Times.
Others lined up to speak on day one of the event include Jacqui Park (International Press Institute); Haruna Mohammed, Co-publisher, WikkiTimes, and Ibiba Don-Pedro, Co-Founder, National Point Newspaper. They will be speaking on the sub-theme; “Local journalism, investigative journalism and democracy.
The last sub-theme for day one is on “Audience engagement for sustainable journalism” to be delivered by Oluwadara Ajala, Program Manager, Nigeria Media Innovation Program (NAMIP) and Adedeji Adekunle, Program Director, Nigeria Media Innovation Program (NAMIP).
The plenary session for the second and final day will feature the sub-theme; “How to cover elections in a digital age,” with Prof Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, scheduled to make the opening remark while the speakers include Lanre Arogundade, the Director, International Press Centre (IPC) and Tijesu Adeoye.
There will be a session on “Practical steps to reporting climate change,” to be addressed by Vivian Chime, Climate Change Reporter, TheCable; Abdulkareem Mojeed, Reporter, Premium Times and Kemi Busari, Editor, Dubawa
Other sessions before the awards to be moderated by Mrs Motunrayo Alaka, the ED/CEO of WSCIJ, include “Hands on fact check misinformation class” and “Undercover reporting – Worth it or not?”
