Nile Media Awards 2017 IssueA river that forgets its source will eventually dry up...
As with all previous issues of The Niles, this one also begins with an African proverb. The look and feel of the publication remain the same, yet we are proud to announce that this issue of The Niles goes beyond Sudan and South Sudan. Like the River Nile itself, this time we are crossing borders to include journalistic contributions from all Nile Basin countries.
In other words, this is the first real ‘The Niles’, the first issue telling stories from the Nile sources in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, all the way to its delta in Egypt. Food, water security, energy access, ecosystems, and climate change are only a few of the challenges faced by the people and countries sharing the Nile today. These issues ask for a much wider angle from a journalistic point of view; they need to be considered beyond their national contexts. That is why we plan to create a cross-border network of journalists from all Nile Basin countries to produce excellent journalism, to promote increased factual and accurate reporting on topics that affect the entire region.
Journalists will raise awareness about topics like cooperation, peace, and security in a way that is easily understood by a wide range of people.
Starting with this issue, in which we present the winners of the Nile Media Awards 2017, a competition that was fittingly organised under the theme of “Nile Cooperation”, we will work regularly with journalists to build and maintain a network through workshops and on-the-job training, with support from GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office. As we develop new issues together and share ideas, we are reminded of the Yoruba proverb as we know that journalists who do not deal with their sources carefully, will also, eventually, dry up.
