Knight Fellow Joseph Warungu is working with journalists across Africa to spur media coverage of key development issues, such as agriculture and rural education, and helping to launch news contests that showcase the content.

Knight International Journalism Fellow Joseph Warungu is leading the launch of an Africa-wide storytelling contest to encourage better coverage of Africa’s growth, development, health and quality of life. The challenge will seek in-depth features; data-driven journalism; and other entries that use innovative tools to engage the public or tell stories. The African Story Challenge includes a $1 million program of training and reporting grants that Warungu is organizing in collaboration with the African Media Initiative, Africa’s only association of media owners and operators. The project includes online training, data boot camps and mentoring. More than 50 reporting grants will be awarded during the two-year project.

Warungu, a BBC journalist for more than two decades, will also produce blogs and multimedia stories aimed at elevating the global dialogue about—and the media’s role in explaining—Africa’s development.