ICFJ helped organize and run a workshop on energy issues in Southern Africa June 24-28 in and near Gaborone, Botswana. Celia Bhattacharya advertised the program and selected the 33 participants from 10 countries of the Southern Africa Development Community. Rob Taylor and former Knight Fellow Joyce Barrett led several work sessions on writing and reporting skills. The Institute for International Education, which ran the program on a grant from USAID, brought in several knowledgeable speakers on energy topics.

The program highlight was a field trip to the village of Manyana, where chief Mareko Abel Mosielele and his headmen submitted to a lengthy interview with the visiting journalists. Most of the workshop participants wrote stories about Botswana's efforts to electrify Manyana, and other villages, with power from solar panels and the national electric grid. Seven of the best stories were published by the South African Mail & Guardian, and five of their authors won return trips to Botswana in June cover an international conference on energy issues.