The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) has named 10 outstanding agricultural journalists to participate in the 2018 IFAJ/Corteva AgriscienceTM Master Class. The 9th annual Master Class will be held in conjunction with IFAJ’s World Congress in Wageningen, The Netherlands, in early July.
This year’s Master Class participants are:
Williams Moi Arimo, North Eastern Media Peace Initiative, Uganda
Hamidou Diop, Agro Actu, Senegal
Dimitri Ergemlidze, Georgia Public Broadcasting/Channel 1, Republic of Georgia
Aobakwe Gofamodimo, Farmers Review, Botswana
Kebba Jeffang, Foroyaa, Gambia
Koleta Makulwa, Radio Free Africa, Tanzania
Jefferson Massah, Farm Radio International, Liberia
Eunice Ndhlovu, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, Malawi
Befedaku Tefera, freelance journalist, Ethiopia
André Tokpon, La Source de l’Info/Ben’agro, Benin
“We are excited and proud to continue our support of the IFAJ’s Master Class Program, which offers agricultural journalists from around the world a top-notch professional development curriculum,” said Gregg Schmidt, Head of External Communications at Corteva AgriscienceTM, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. “The journalists that attend the program are such valuable stewards of messages that enhance the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come.”
Subjects covered during the two-day Master Class program include journalism best practices, press freedom issues, interviewing skills, leadership development and networking, all taught by working journalists. The Master Class will include farm visits and reporting workshops as well as round-table discussions of pressing issues facing agricultural journalists in the field.
“These 10 outstanding colleagues have already demonstrated their skills as journalists, and they are already leaders in their communities,” said Steve Werblow, IFAJ secretary-general. “With the generous support of Corteva AgriscienceTM as well as additional support from the U.S. and Finnish guilds the Master Class program provides them an opportunity to engage in professional development, leadership training and networking on a global level that will allow them to reach new heights as communicators and leaders in our industry.
“Over the years, alumni have taken the lessons and network connections home from Master Class to establish agricultural journalism guilds in their home countries, strengthening agricultural journalism and helping build IFAJ,” Werblow added. “I believe the guilds in Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, the Republic of Georgia, Tanzania and Togo have been led or strengthened by alumni of the Master Class program over the past several years.
“Through guild-building and networking, this program has touched hundreds, maybe thousands of journalists around the world, and we are excited to meet and learn from this new group of talented professionals,” he concluded.
Members of Master Class will also attend the IFAJ Congress, adding to more than 40 nations represented at the global meeting.