The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has received 768 applications from journalists, academics, and technological experts to attend its inaugural, first of its kind West African Journalism Innovation Conference (WAJIC). #WAJIC’23, which holds under the theme Accountability Journalism: Nurturing Innovation for a Sustainable Future, aims to explore the crucial intersection between accountability journalism and innovation in Africa.
Artificial intelligence, particularly the recent breakthroughs in large language models (LLMs), has brought about a revolutionary transformation in our world. Its impact on jobs and democracies can be both positive and negative, depending on the steps adopted in guiding its development in the immediate future. In West Africa, the media plays a crucial role in addressing these concerns, yet it faces its own challenges in this rapidly changing landscape. To ensure its survival and contribute to democratic outcomes, WAJIC will convene media and other stakeholders to reassess its approaches to content production, distribution, and financial sustainability.
Walter Conkrite once stated that “Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.” Journalism around the world however battles hydra-headed issues like declining public confidence in the media, a lack of newsroom independence, subpar media and new literacy, information disorder, and inadequate budget which are leading it to decline in the 21st century.
To respond to these challenges and better perform their functions, the CJID recognises the need for continual reinvention and innovation in the ways journalism is practised and why its business model must be driven by modern technology across the journalism value chain.
These concerns for the health of journalism and democracy in sub saharan Africa spurred the CJID to bring together various experts and stakeholders to dialogue on exploring innovations, technological models, and tools that can fortify journalism practice.
According to Dapo Olorunyomi, the CEO of the centre “We will hold significant discussions with diverse viewpoints from around Africa in an effort to get to the bottom of the financial problems plaguing the continent’s journalism. We are eager to investigate teamwork and novel approaches that uphold the values of accuracy, truthfulness, verification, and unwavering commitment to the public good.”
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CJID encourages the public to follow up on preparations and other crucial information concerning the conference on www.wajic.thecjid.org event. The centre is eager to make this one enormous move toward improving journalism in Africa and hope you would join us.
