By Sharon Kyatusimiire, Peninah Nalubega, Chisomo Sumani, Anthony Kizza, and Bill Dan Arnold Borodi
After three years, the EU-funded project CoMMPASS (Communicating Migration and Mobility: E-Learning Programs and Newsroom Applications for Sub-Saharan Africa) is coming to an end.
At the final conference in Uganda, the project consortium met with other educators from Africa and outlined future paths for e-learning programmes and migration reporting on the continent.
At the conference “Media, Migration and Mobility: Reimagining the African Narrative,” the project results and, in particular, the e-learning platform of CoMMPASS were presented and discussed. Available in the four main languages of sub-Saharan Africa – English, French, Portuguese, and Kiswahili – it represents an attempt to convey ethically sound, accurate, and impactful migration reporting across language regions. The aim is to facilitate cross-border discourse on the topic. The conference focused in particular on the question of what opportunities e-learning offers for journalism training in Africa.
The platform was developed jointly by two universities from Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Uganda, together with TU Dortmund University and ISCTE University in Lisbon. To date, more than 2,300 students and journalists have benefited from the online courses, which have been implemented at 37 universities in 29 African countries. Over 100 lecturers and scientists from the project’s partner and associated partner universities were trained on the topic and on how to use the e-learning portal, which was also promoted in roll-out seminars on journalistic practice.
The third and final project conference took place at the beginning of February at Uganda Christian University in Mukono, near the Ugandan capital Kampala. Scientists from across Africa called on governments on the continent and partners in development cooperation to invest more in e-learning technologies so that more people can benefit from online education. The conference brought together scientists, researchers, and representatives of the media from 28 countries.
The project manager, Prof. Susanne Fengler from TU Dortmund University, thanked all partners involved for their contribution to the success of the project and pointed out that sustained effort is now needed to ensure that more journalists are trained in reporting on migration and mobility, as this has become an important topic worldwide.
Dr Sisanda Nkoala.
University of the Western Cape’s Dr Sisanda Nkoala spoke at the conference and proposed a framework to bridge the divide between journalism practice and academia.
Her proposed framework aims to strengthen collaboration between journalists and academics in Africa. She said closer partnerships could significantly improve the quality and impact of journalism across the continent.
Dr Nkoala highlighted what she described as a persistent divide between journalism practice and journalism studies.
“Journalism and journalism studies are inextricably linked, yet in reality they are often treated as separate crafts with very different purposes,” she said. While journalists gather and report news, academics analyse and theorise about those practices, but the two communities seldom collaborate closely enough to benefit from each other’s knowledge.
Nkoala argued that the gap is particularly pronounced in Africa, where colonial legacies, unequal access to digital resources and varied political environments complicate relationships between universities and newsrooms.
To address this challenge, she presented the Journalism Academic Knowledge Exchange (JAKE) framework, developed through research with colleagues examining relationships between journalism educators and industry practitioners in several African countries.
The framework identifies three key “realms” describing how journalists and academics interact. In the “autonomous and adept” realm, both sides see themselves as self-sufficient and see little need for collaboration. In the “abstract and acrimonious” realm, academic research is often dismissed as unrealistic or disconnected from newsroom realities.
The goal, she said, is to move towards an “accessible and applicable” realm where journalists and academics collaborate as co-creators of knowledge.
Nkoala said stronger partnerships could help journalists incorporate research-based depth into reporting while enabling academics to make their work more relevant to public debate and policy.
Digital platforms also offer new opportunities for collaboration, she added, by enabling cross-border partnerships, virtual learning and direct engagement between researchers and media practitioners.
Ultimately, she argued, journalism schools should become “intellectual homes” for the profession, where theory and practice actively inform one another to strengthen journalism and democracy.
Focus on linguistic diversity and African perspectives
During the conference, Miguel Crespo from Portuguese project partner ISCTE emphasized the need to incorporate African perspectives more strongly into the design of online learning platforms. He pointed out that many e-learning courses did not take into account important African realities such as the linguistic diversity of the continent, access to digital media, and inclusion. Dr. Mulatu Alemayehu Moges from Ethiopia pointed out the lack of specialization in journalism education, especially when it comes to reporting on important but less attractive topics such as migration. He emphasized that courses such as CoMMPASS could help close this gap. Online learning offers an opportunity to expand access to journalism education and strengthen the profession across Africa.
Keynote speaker Prof. Ralph Afolabi Akinfeleye from New City University in Nigeria and board member of the World Journalism Education Council also highlighted the negative impact of social media on reporting on migration issues and called on journalists to adhere to ethical standards.
“Covering migration is not as glamorous as covering scandals. Therefore, journalists need to go beyond reverse news pyramid-style reporting and do more research before writing an article,” he emphasized.
Professor Levi Obonyo from Daystar University in Kenya said that journalism education in Africa was adopted from the West, which continues to prevent it from reflecting local realities.
Issa Boro from Thomas Sankara University in Burkina Faso noted that the gap between the expectations of newsrooms and journalism education in universities is growing. “We need to see each other as partners and allies, not competitors. Education should enrich newsrooms, but that is not currently the case. More programs like CoMMPASS are needed to bridge this gap if journalistic standards are to be maintained,” he said.
The conference also resonated with promoters of African cultural heritage. Kisanet Tedros is the founder of Beles Bubu, an organization dedicated to teaching children about cultural traditions. She said the discussions were closely related to her work. “I am delighted that African narratives are being discussed,” Kisanet said. “This will help us create our own history and our own truth.”
“Education is not a place, but a result”
Abaas Mpindi, co-founder of the Media Challenge Initiative, a non-profit organization for young journalists in Uganda, noted in his keynote speech on the future of online journalism education in sub-Saharan Africa that many institutions still do not take online learning seriously.
In his opinion, this “outdated” mindset limits Africa’s ability to embrace modern learning models. “We need to change our attitude toward online education. We must view education not as a place, but as a result. The future of online education must adapt to the context of a changing world and prepare journalists to work effectively in today’s dynamic news environment,” he said.
Beyond journalism training, the conference also highlighted prospects for e-learning in Africa as a whole. Professor John Kalenga Saka, Council Chair at Livingstonia University in Malawi, explained that online education is increasingly shaping the redesign and accreditation of academic curricula. Educators need to demonstrate that online learning is just as good as the interactivity of face-to-face teaching.
Saul Waigolo, spokesperson for the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) in Uganda, explained that the council has no objections to online learning, provided that the qualifications are authentic and have been obtained from accredited and recognized institutions. However, Waigolo urged learners to be cautious when enrolling in online courses and warned that some so-called online education providers are not authentic academic institutions.
The students’ perspective
But what do graduates say about CoMMPASS’s 14-module online course? Aisha Traoré, a journalist from Burkina Faso, highlighted the flexibility of the course, noting that it allowed her to complete modules and learn anytime, anywhere.
Clara Phiri from Malawi emphasized the importance of fact-checking. “I learned that after collecting data, you have to check its accuracy, especially in times of misinformation and disinformation,” she explained.
Chisomo Sumani, also from Malawi, described her time on the CoMMPASS course as a “great experience” and added that the course design was “very flexible” for learners. “It was easy for me to stick to the schedule.” However, Sumani noted that it was necessary to combine live sessions and online learning to motivate and encourage students to continue the course.
Journalism awards for three outstanding articles
A total of five journalists from across Africa were honored at the conference for their outstanding reporting on migration and mobility issues on the continent.
Henry Nwachukwu, a student at Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria, Emmanuella Agbezukey, a student from Ghana, and Blessing Bolaji, a graduate of Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria, were recognized for their joint efforts in a cross-border journalistic collaboration. Their article, “Digital Trap: How Online Promises Are Hurting Migrants in the Nigeria–Ghana Corridor,” illustrates how misinformation about migration opportunities and employment abroad often leads to exploitation and fraud, the jury praised.
Djakaridia Siribie, a journalist at the state-owned newspaper Les Éditions Sidwaya in Burkina Faso, and Collins Mtika, co-founder of the Centre for Investigative Journalism in Malawi (CIJM), were announced as additional winners.
Siribie’s article “Les réfugiés passent de l’assistance humanitaire à l’autonomie” (Refugees transition from humanitarian assistance to self-reliance) addressed the crucial transition of refugees from dependence on humanitarian aid to self-reliance. Mtika’s article “When the Rains Leave: Malawi’s Hidden Climate Migration Trap” examined climate-induced migration in the southeastern African country.
According to the organizers, more than 100 entries were received from journalists in 28 African countries, reflecting the growing interest and expertise in migration reporting across the continent. From these submissions, eight outstanding articles were nominated for the final selection under the leadership of Livingstonia University. In a final vote, the members of the CoMMPASS consortium and conference participants selected the three winning articles.
The CoMMPASS project will run until the end of March 2026. The universities involved are Thomas Sankara and Joseph Ki-Zerbo from Burkina Faso, the University of Livingstonia and Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences from Malawi, and Makerere University and Uganda Christian University from Uganda. On the European side, ISCTE University Lisbon is also part of the consortium led by TU Dortmund University (project coordination: Prof. Dr. Susanne Fengler and Dr. Michel Leroy). CoMMPASS is funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ program as a project for capacity building in higher education.
Additional reporting by Enock Sithole. Image via CoMMPASS on Facebook.
This article was originally published in the Ajenda Newsletter.