Wole Soyinka Centre to increase investigative reporting of girls and women

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism said it has launched the “Report Women” project, to increase and improve the reportage of girls and

women in the Nigerian media.

The Centre made this known in a statement issued yesterday by its Coordinator,

Motunrayo Alaka.

It said the initiative was a collaborative effort between the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Centre, which planned to focus on major issues of access and abuse, ranging from education, to health care, violence, and early marriage, among others.

“The project seeks to use the tool of investigative reporting to highlight these issues, even as it examines the role of religion in the girl child and woman’s rights trajectory.

“The Report Women Project started in May 2014, with a one-month media monitoring of the reportage of girls and women in seven Nigerian newspapers.  It will continue with a meeting of stakeholders on Thursday, August 7, in Lagos. Thereafter, investigative journalism trainings aimed at honing participants’ skills on the reportage of girls and women issues will hold in Abuja, Ekiti, and Cross River states.

“This will be followed by the administration of small grants to shortlisted journalists to investigate and write issue-based stories on girls and women. The project will also include a Report Women award, the production of an investigative documentary, and the publication of a reporter’s resource guide on reporting girls and women” the statement said.