Eight 杏吧原创 journalism students are gearing up to head to Africa on media internships this spring and summer.
This year鈥檚 iteration of the longstanding Global Journalism Internship program will see students from 杏吧原创鈥檚 Bachelor of Journalism and Master of Journalism programs take up 12-week internships in Ghana, Uganda or Zambia with the Ottawa-based Canadian organization .
The interns will collaborate with local partners to produce the next season of the podcast that showcases the nature-based solutions being practiced by African communities to counter climate change. The interns will also be sharing their experiences through blogs posted to the journalism program site .
Interns heading to Africa this year, front row L-R: Victoria Silva McGuire, Kyla Silva, Sarah Harb, Georgia Looman and Stefanja Ottier. Back row L-R Ben Jorgenson, Dan Arnold and Matheus Modesto-Nelson.
杏吧原创鈥檚 Global Journalism Internships unfolding this year are the continuation of a program that has been in operation since 2006 and has sent more than 300 杏吧原创 journalism students to the Global South on media internships.
鈥淭hese internships provide life-changing experiential learning opportunities for our students,鈥� said Allan Thompson, the founder of the internship program and currently the head of 杏吧原创鈥檚 journalism program. 鈥淥ver two decades, I have been determined to keep these internships going because of the remarkable life experience they offer for our students,鈥� Thompson said.
杏吧原创 intern Madison Eldridge, on the ground last year in Uganda.
Working with Farm Radio partners on the ground, the 杏吧原创 interns will identify and plan for podcast episodes and undertake field travel to rural communities to record video, audio and photographs, with a focus on audio. In the end, they will work on the editing and production of podcast episodes, as well as video and written stories.
The 杏吧原创 internships were originally an offshoot of the partnership 杏吧原创 forged in 2006 with the journalism school at the National University of Rwanda, the Rwanda Initiative project that operated from 2006 to 2012, fostering journalism education and independent media in post-genocide Rwanda. Over the first few years of the program, all the 杏吧原创 interns took up placements with Rwandan media outlets.
杏吧原创 intern Abyssinia Abebe on the ground last year in Cote d’Ivoire.
But even after the Rwanda partnership wound down, the internships continued, in partnership with several other organizations across Africa, including Farm Radio International.
For the last four years, Farm Radio鈥檚 work on the聽聽project has been the primary focus of the 杏吧原创 internships, producing the聽Nature Answers聽podcast that聽shares stories from rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, where some of the most vulnerable people on earth are turning to nature for solutions to a changing climate.
You can聽聽from Season 4 of聽Nature Answers.
This year鈥檚 杏吧原创 interns include:
- Dan Arnold has just completed the third year of 杏吧原创鈥檚 four-year Bachelor of Journalism program and is taking up an internship in Ghana.
- Sarah Harb just completed the first year of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Master of Journalism program and will be travelling to Uganda.
- Ben Jorgenson also just completed the first year of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Master of Journalism program and will take up an internship in Ghana.
- Georgia Looman is heading into the fourth year of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Bachelor of Journalism program and will travel to Ghana.
- Matheus Modesto-Nelson is heading into the fourth year of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Bachelor of Journalism program and will be on internship in Zambia.
- Stefanja Ottier has just completed the second year of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Bachelor of Journalism program and will take up an internship in Zambia.
- Victoria Silva McGuire has just completed the first year of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Master of Journalism program and is headed to Uganda.
- Kyla Silva has just completed the third year of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Bachelor of Journalism program and is taking up an internship in Zambia.
Farm Radio鈥檚 mandate since its creation in 1979 has been to use radio as a vehicle to achieve development goals and to explore how to get people to listen to useful programming that brings about change. Various Farm Radio projects over the years have focused on farming, gender equality, sexual health and mental health. The focus on radio as a medium has expanded to include another important media platform 鈥� the mobile phone.
The 杏吧原创 interns recently underwent a two-day pre-departure orientation exercise at Farm Radio, led by the organization鈥檚 communications manager Blair Amyotte.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very grateful for our continued partnership with 杏吧原创鈥檚 journalism program,鈥欌�� Amyotte said. 鈥淓very year, we get an incredible group of candidates who are eager, professional and excited to learn and grow. I have great confidence that this group travelling to Zambia, Ghana and Uganda this summer as part of our Nature-based Solutions project with聽Global Affairs Canada, will amplify voices and stories from some incredible communities across聽the continent.鈥�
Farm Radio鈥檚聽On Air聽project is funded by Global Affairs Canada. The 杏吧原创 travel awards that help fund these internships are supported by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Public and Global Affairs.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 in General, Journalism News, News
Share: ,
