Are you a research or media institution based in Southern Africa interested in strengthening the capacities of your journalists in open source investigations?
Code for Africa (CfA) is offering four African Digital Democracy Observatory (ADDO) Institutional Fellowships to strengthen the investigative skills of research and media institutions in Southern Africa. The programme aims to equip researchers and journalists with open-source intelligence (OSINT) and social media intelligence (SOCMINT) forensic analysis skills to produce evidence-driven evaluation of information manipulation and interference (IMI) and coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB), and to support access to credible information.
The fellowships, which will run for three months, aim to protect inclusive democracy and human rights in the digital age. They will leverage digital technologies to strengthen democracy, with an emphasis on climate and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) issues in the following Southern African countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs funds the programme, which is being implemented under the Detecting, Disrupting, and Deplatforming Malign Actors project.
Our goals for the fellowships are to:
- Equip investigative media organisations, research institutes, think tanks, and watchdog civil society organisations with open-source intelligence (OSINT) skills and tools to turbocharge their investigations into information manipulation.
- Support the selected organisations in establishing in-house teams that produce regular analyses tracking information integrity in their countries.
- Help the participating organisations reach larger audiences and build deeper engagement with the public for data-driven discussions on key issues.
- Build a strong pan-African network of OSINT investigators who can collaborate on transnational investigations with peers worldwide to unmask influence operations and information manipulation.
The fellowship programme
The fellowship aims to enhance information integrity in the target countries by tackling hate speech, misinformation, and propaganda, while strengthening local media and civil society resilience. Participants will gain access to digital forensic tools, resources, and expertise to counter information manipulation.
The programme will consist of:
- Grants: Participants will receive a modest grant to cover eligible activities and costs.
- Training and mentorship: CfA will offer hands-on technical training, followed by one-on-one project mentorship with support from CfA’s data technologists, editors, and forensic investigators.
- Publishing investigative content packages: As a result of the training and mentorship, participants will publish content packages on climate and LGBTQ+ issues on their respective platforms.
Still interested? Check if you are eligible:
- The research and media institutions must be registered in the target countries, with an explicit focus on audiences in Africa.
- The institutions must have a minimum of one year of experience, with a strong preference for expertise in analytical research or data journalism.
- The institutions must provide evidence of reports they have produced and published, with the most recent publication being no older than two months.
- The institutions must commit to timely and open communication from the management and assigned journalists.
- The institutions must commit to publishing/disseminating their work on an appropriate public platform. CfA will assist with partnerships/syndications where appropriate.
- The institutions must commit to agreed-on online training and mentorship sessions.
- The applicants must be fluent in either of the languages of tuition and mentorship: English or French.
If your organisation is eligible, apply by Wednesday, 07 May 2025, by completing this form.
Questions? Reach out to mitchelle.awuor@codeforafrica.org and kunle.adebajo@codeforafrica.org.
About the partners:
Code for Africa is Africa’s largest civic technology and open data incubator, and supports digital democracy and investigative data journalism initiatives as part of our mission to give citizens access to actionable information and to amplify citizen voices to make society more responsive and accountable. CfA’s mission is to leverage technology and data to foster digital democracies and empower citizens by providing actionable information.
The African Digital Democracy Observatory (ADDO) is the only continent-wide research coalition focused on understanding how disinformation and influence or information operations are being used to subvert African democracies or watchdog institutions. The initiative is member-driven, consisting of 15 organisations that run substantive Africa-focused analytical research or investigations. Find out more about ADDO’s activities and members here.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway (Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is the governmental body responsible for Norway’s foreign policy. It is structured into nine departments and oversees nearly 100 diplomatic missions worldwide, including embassies, permanent delegations, and consulates general. Among its key responsibilities is promoting human rights and democratic principles.
To all recruitment agencies: CfA does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our employment application line, CfA employees or any other CfA contact. CfA is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Please note: Due to high volumes of applications, we are unable to respond to each one individually. If you are selected for an interview, we will contact you.