Africa (multi-country) — With applications closing on 25 September 2026, Africa No Filter is inviting African journalists and other storytellers into a 12-month Voices for Climate Justice programme that links climate reporting to debt, gender and fossil fuels — a green-journalism pipeline designed to shift narratives beyond crisis stereotypes.
What is on offer
According to Media Rights Agenda’s 9 September 2026 report on the call, Africa No Filter — an advocacy group that supports storytelling portraying Africa as dynamic rather than solely crisis-defined — will select 15 to 20 storytellers for training, mentorship and amplification. Participants can receive grants of up to US$4,000 to develop and produce stories.
The initiative partners with Comic Relief. Eligible countries listed in the call include Mozambique, Uganda, Nigeria, Angola, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, South Sudan, Malawi and Zambia. Applicants must be at least 18.
Journalism and multi-format storytelling
Eligible profiles include journalists, content creators, podcasters, vloggers, muralists and data visualisers with an active audience. Content creators and data visualisers are asked to show a combined following of at least 5,000 across platforms; journalists may demonstrate reach through their publication’s audience. Platforms should have been active and engaged for more than a year.
Selected participants must commit to producing and sharing at least four pieces over at least six months focused on gender, debt and fossil fuels. Formats may include video, podcast, articles, murals and data visualisations. Pitches should connect climate change to loan-based climate finance burdens and gendered impacts, while avoiding reinforcing negative stereotypes about Africa.
How to apply — and what the desk should note
Applicants submit a pitch deck (max five slides) or a video pitch (max 60 seconds), then complete the online form via Africa No Filter’s portal, with links to platforms or publications. Content must be in English or French. Review is rolling; shortlisted candidates are invited to virtual interviews. Only shortlisted applicants are contacted.
For newsroom editors, the call is a concrete capacity signal: African green journalism is being funded not only as “climate disaster” coverage but as political-economy storytelling — debt instruments, fossil interests and gender justice. That sits squarely in the Green Journalism beat: who gets trained, paid and amplified to explain climate power.
Timing
Applications close 25 September 2026 — days after this desk’s snapshot (22 September). Newsrooms with eligible freelancers in the listed countries should treat the window as immediate.
Middle East context note
This pack fills the assignment’s Middle East and/or Africa slot with an Africa-wide journalism capacity peg timed to a live deadline. Parallel MENA climate-reporting fellowships (for example ocean and conflict-environment beats tracked by international centres) continue separately; editors chasing Arabic-language desks should not treat the Africa No Filter call as a substitute for region-specific MENA programmes.
