The Media Challenge Initiative (MCI) on Friday February 11 unveiled the fifth class of fellows who will undergo rigorous hands-on journalism skills training for a period of six months.
The 26 fellows were selected from the 7th edition of the Inter-University Media Challenge, an annual event which brings together students of journalism and those interested in the profession to compete, and showcase talent in news gathering, production and presentation.
The kick-starter had the C.E.O of the MCI’s Abaas Mpindi, speak to the fellows on expectations, requirements, and exciting opportunities ahead. This was also an opportunity for the group to reflect on their purpose and why they wanted to be part of the program.
“As MCI, we want people to work as a unit and move as a team”. Mr. Mpindi emphasized during his presentation.
Unlike previously, the program extend its curriculum to involve Public service reporting which involves reporting about government offices and holding them accountable for the services they ought to give to the public.
The fellowship is designed on a 25 days training that is stretched out in 6 months to provide extensive training in multimedia journalism and mentorship
The fellows could not suppress the excitement.
“I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I want to learn everything related to journalism and this is the right place. I also look forward to re-learning because I need to perfect the skills I have gained over time as a student. I am just excited to learn and unlearn.” Kabuye Kenneth a fellow spoke with so much excitement.
As a Journalism student, the dream is to improve oneself and it’s no different for Nagitta Dorothy a 4th Year Makerere University student.
“This fellowship is a foundation for me to improve my writing skills. Apart from this, I look forward to learning all production work that is editing both video and audio, camera work as well interacting with other editing software that I need to expose myself to as a journalist.” she explains.
