By Sharon Kyatusiimire
A total of five journalists from across Africa have been recognized for outstanding reporting on migration and mobility issues on the continent.
Henry Nwachukwu, a Mass Communication student at Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria, Emmanuella Agbezukey, a student of Development in Communication from Ghana, and Blessing Bolaji, a Mass Communication graduate of Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria, were awarded for their joint effort in a cross-border collaboration. Their article “Digital Trap: How Online Promises Are Hurting Migrants in the Nigeria–Ghana Corridor“ Illustrates how disinformation on employment and migration opportunities frequently leads to exploitation, scams, and unsafe living conditions.
Djakaridia Siribie, a journalist with Burkina Faso’s state-owned newspaper Les Éditions Sidwaya, and Collins Mtika, co- founder of the Centre for Investigative Journalism in Malawi (CIJM), were announced as the other two winners of the CoMMPASS (Communicating Migration and Mobility) Project Writing Competition.
Siribie’s article „Les réfugiés passent de l’assistance humanitaire à l’autonomie“ focused on the critical transition of refugees from humanitarian assistance to self-reliance. Mtika explored climate-induced migration in Malawi in his piece, “When the Rains Leave: Malawi’s Hidden Climate Migration Trap.”
The awards were presented during the just-concluded five-day 3rd International CoMMPASS Conference held at Uganda Christian University under the theme: “Media, Migration and Mobility: Re-imagining the African Narrative.”
According to the organizers, the competition attracted more than 100 entries from journalists across 28 African countries. Out of these submissions, eight exceptional articles were shortlisted for the final stage, demonstrating the growing interest and expertise in migration reporting across the continent. In a final vote following the presentation of the nominations, the CoMMPASS consortium members and conference participants selected the three awarded articles.
The CoMMPASS project is an innovative Erasmus+ initiative designed to empower African journalists and journalism students to report on migration and mobility with greater accuracy, ethics, and impact. The programme brings together more than 37 partner universities across Africa and Europe to strengthen professional skills and promote responsible journalism.
Now in its third and final year, CoMMPASS has trained more than 2,300 participants, making it one of the largest journalism capacity-building initiatives focused on migration and mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Monica Chibita, Chairperson of the Organising Committee, congratulated all winners and participants for their dedication to telling important migration stories that contribute to informed public debate and policy dialogue.
While closing the conference, Prof. Chibita expressed appreciation to the funders and all participants for making both the project and the conference a success.
“I particularly want to applaud Makerere University for the cooperation and for always stepping in whenever we needed help, especially with technical challenges. We are supposed to be ‘competitors,’ but I don’t believe that. We are actually partners, and we look forward to more partnerships,” she said.
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