By Bill Dan Arnold Borod
The third international conference on reporting migration and mobility enters its second day at Uganda Christian University in Mukono, Uganda.
The future of e-learning in Africa dominated discussions on Day One of the CoMMPASS conference, with participants highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of online education, particularly in journalism training.
Dr. Nulatu Alemayeha Moses described the first day as engaging and thought-provoking, noting that it brought together diverse perspectives on how e-learning should be structured going forward.
In his view, participants openly examined the pros and cons of online learning, with a focus on its relevance to the African context. “I raised issues on how online learning is important for Africa,” Dr. Nulatu said, adding that journalism education on the continent remains largely under-structured. He argued that online learning offers an opportunity to widen access to journalism training and strengthen the profession across Africa.
The conference also resonated with advocates of African storytelling and heritage. Kisanet Tedros, founder of Beles Bubu Africa, an organisation dedicated to teaching African children about African heritage, said the discussions strongly aligned with her work.
“I am happy to see people talking about telling African narratives,” Kisanet said. “This will help us create our own story and our own truth,” he added.
Students also welcomed the shift toward digital learning. Kintu Conrad, a student at Uganda Christian University, said he is ready to embrace online education, describing it as transformative. “Online learning seems like a game changer,” Kintu said.
At the end of Day One, participants agreed that beyond technology, e-learning presents an opportunity to reshape education, amplify African voices and redefine how knowledge, especially in journalism, is produced and shared on the continent.
The CoMMPASS project was borne out of the realisation that many newsrooms in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) fail to address the root causes of migration and to discuss potential solutions in terms of mobility. By focusing on capacity building in higher journalism education, the project aims to promote the quality of information, public discourse and media literacy about migration in countries of origin.
As Day Two gets underway participants will share ideas on involving bringing the learner at the centre of online journalism training; the future of online journalism education in sub-Saharan Africa; embracing excellence in journalism e-learning in Africa; and strengthening networking among journalism educators on online teaching.
The conference ends on Friday.
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