NUMEC Digital Journalism Fellowship Kicks Off in Gulu

What the report says

Seventeen journalists from across Northern Uganda have started a three-month digital journalism and content innovation fellowship in Gulu City, according to the Nile Post. The program was launched on Monday by the Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC) at Global Friendship Hotel, with the first residential bootcamp scheduled for September 7-11, 2026.

The fellowship is designed to strengthen reporting skills in data journalism, multimedia storytelling, photojournalism, social media storytelling and podcasting. NUMEC said the training responds to changes in technology and audience behavior that are pushing newsrooms to adapt how stories are gathered, packaged and shared. The selected cohort includes 14 men and three women, and NUMEC said the opportunity drew interest from applicants beyond Uganda, including from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo and Kenya.

At the opening session, facilitator Chowoo Willy emphasized the need for journalists to use digital tools to make stories more compelling and relevant. A participant, Teddy Dokotho of Nation Media Group, said the training matters because journalists are moving beyond older storytelling methods and need better ways to verify information, especially figures cited by officials.

NUMEC Chief Executive Officer Alfred Oryem said the fellowship was created because digital disruption has changed the media environment and many radio stories in the region have not had a lasting online presence. He said the fellows are expected to carry the skills back to their newsrooms and help broaden the digital reach of Northern Uganda’s media. NUMEC, based in Gulu and founded in 1993, works on media development in a region shaped by years of conflict.