The Highway Africa conference held here this week is the largest gathering of journalists on the continent, bringing together leaders who are promoting better reporting, better media management, better innovation in the digital arena and better laws to help and protect journalists. As the conference came to a close, I was proud to think that ICFJ’s programs – led by the Knight International Journalism Fellowships – are setting the standard in all those areas.

Kampala, Uganda: Gathering our Knight Fellows working in Africa to share successes and frustrations has been inspiring.They have started (or are on a path to start) health journalists’ associations. They have launched new newspaper sections on agriculture and new radio shows on poverty-related issues. They have guided journalists in producing reports that averted polio and measles epidemics and brought desperately needed funding for hospitals and irrigation systems.