Do you want to help counter misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and incitement in Kenya?
Code for Africa (CfA) is offering three Peace Sentinel Fellowships to individuals with expertise in social media listening and analysis, with a good knowledge of social media cross-platform coordination and messaging in platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter and Facebook.
The part-time fellowships are part of the joint initiative between CfA and UNDP in Kenya to support the prevention of political violence and county-level ethnic and resource-driven conflicts both at the national level in Kenya and amongst vulnerable communities.
The successful candidates will work with CfA’s iLAB forensic investigation team to provide information on creating early warning alerts on conflict within their communities. The peace sentinels will provide information on possible events that might trigger conflict or incitement prior to these events scaling to full-blown conflict.
The fellows will be mentored by a team of international experts, investigative data analysts from the iLAB, UN peacebuilding specialists and social media engagement professionals.
The fellowship package will consist of :
- Stipend: Fellows will receive a competitive substantive monthly stipend depending on their influence as either macro or nano influencers and experience in similar previous projects.
Are You Eligible?
The Peace Sentinel Fellowships are intended to give individuals a chance to use their skills to provide early warning alerts for civic watchdogs about online harmful toxic content in Mandera, Wajir, Kisumu, Migori, Nairobi and Garissa counties in Kenya. The Peace Sentinels insights will be used to create early warning alerts.
Therefore applicants must meet the following criteria:
- You must be non-partisan, without any link to political parties or government agencies or paramilitary organisations or state-affiliated media or other bodies that might create the perception of partisanship in the elections of both national and local politics.
- You must be fluent in English or Kiswahili as well as being fluent in your local ethnic language.
- You must have access to a reliable home laptop/computer with stable internet connectivity, to be able to participate in programme activities and online classes/mentorship.
- Demonstrate an understanding of using social media such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and Twitter.
- Be available for weekly one-hour virtual meetings.
The deadline for applications is 10 October 2023.
To apply, complete this form.
About the Partners:
- Code for Africa (CfA) is the continent’s largest network of digital democracy laboratories, with over 100 full-time data scientists, forensic researchers, technologists and digital storytellers working in support of investigative media and watchdog CSO partners in 21 African countries. CfA builds digital solutions that provide actionable information to citizens to encourage informed decisions, while also amplifying voices to strengthen civic engagement for improved public governance and evidence-driven accountability. CfA provides the technology/data support for Charter Africa. CfA will give fellows access to support from its openAFRICA data team, commons.AFRICA open source team, its source.AFRICA evidence research team, and a string of wider communities that CfA manages including the africanDRONE community of civic drone/mapping pioneers, the sensor.AFRICA community that uses remote sensors to monitor air/water/radiation and other environmental information, the PesaCheck fact-checking team that debunks misinformation, the iLAB forensic investigation team that tracks and exposes hate speech or other toxic content, the CivicSignal media monitoring and content analysis team, and the WanaData network of women data scientists/storytellers who liberate and amplify feminist data.
- iLAB is Africa’s largest forensic analysis lab using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools to fight disinformation and hate speech across the continent. It has full-time data analysts and cybercrime investigators in eight countries (in Burkina Faso, Côte d’ivoire, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe), who help expose digital campaigns designed to mislead the public in the run-up to elections and other democratic processes.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) UNDP, is the primary United Nations entity for global development efforts and operates in 170 nations and regions with the aim of eliminating poverty and diminishing inequality. UNDP assists countries in formulating policies, enhancing leadership capabilities, fostering partnerships, strengthening institutions, and cultivating resilience to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. UNDP’s efforts are concentrated within three key areas: sustainable development, democratic governance and peace-building, and climate and disaster resilience.