Water and Development Partnership Programme: InfoNile wins climate journalism award
InfoNile, a group of journalists supported by IHE Delft’s Water and Development Partnership Programme, was named a winner of a prestigious Covering Climate Now Journalism Award this month, along with other winners including BBC News, Reuters and the Nigerian Tribune.
InfoNile's winning entry showcased multimedia documentation of climate change impacts in the Karamoja sub-region in Uganda. Titled "Shifting Seasons: unpredictable rains disrupt Ugandan pastoralist communities", the submission impressed a judging panel of 117 journalists to win an award in the category ‘Large Projects and Collaborations’. The multimedia feature includes contributions from three African journalists specialising in water issues within the Nile River Basin: Stuart Tibaweswa's photo essay, Lucie Mouillaud's radio reporting and Shemei Agabo's documentary.
Agricultural shift
In 2021, the three journalists began investigating and documenting the increasing unpredictability of rains across Karamoja, which is resulting in heightened soil erosion, land degradation and severe food insecurity. The communities, traditionally sustained by livestock farming, have been compelled to shift towards crop cultivation as a means of survival as pastures and food become scarce. The findings were presented in a four-day community exhibition in Karamoja that fostered dialogue and raised awareness among various policymakers and community members about the climate change challenges faced by the communities.
Emanuele Fantini, IHE Delft Senior Lecturer in Water Politics and Communication, who is involved in the InfoNile initiative said the award was a well-earned recognition of important work.
“I am very happy for this award: it is an acknowledgement of the important work that InfoNile has been doing in the past years, also in partnership with IHE Delft, to promote collaborations between journalists and scientists, and to make sure that the information and the knowledge produced have a real impact on the ground,” he said.
"It is an acknowledgement of the important work that InfoNile has been doing in the past years, also in partnership with IHE Delft."
InfoNile is among the 51 winners selected from a pool of 1,250 entries representing various regions worldwide. Now in its fourth year, the Covering Climate Now awards programme honours journalists for outstanding coverage in climate reporting globally and for being at the forefront of climate storytelling.
Photo credit: Stuart Tibaweswa, InfoNile
About InfoNile
InfoNile is a cross-border group of geojournalists with a mission to uncover critical stories on water issues in the Nile River Basin through data-based multimedia storytelling. The group seeks to bridge the gap between scientists and researchers, journalists, and the public, in order to increase mutual awareness of water issues of this ancient and significant river.
About the programme
The Water and Development Partnership Programme envisions a world where inclusive and diverse partnerships and marginalised knowledges transform the ways we know, use, share and care for water. To achieve this, the programme funds bold, creative and transdisciplinary projects that combine research, education and capacity strengthening activities aimed at creating a peaceful, just and sustainable world. Implemented with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the programme supports organisations in non-European, low- and middle-income countries as they strengthen their capacity to manage water in sustainable and inclusive ways.
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