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The knowledge I gained during my Fellowship with African Liberty would go a long way in shaping some of my reports and radio programs. For instance, when I produced a radio show about Nigeria’s unemployment crisis in 2020 and featured AL Managing Editor, Ibrahim Anoba, I got feedback from colleagues and listeners who appreciated his contributions to the radio show. I also built relationships with brilliant persons, and one of them is my colleague at Premium Times, Mariam Ileyemi — Qosim Suleiman 2022, reporter of the year, Premium Times

It was an eye-opener. The fellowship brushed up my writing and analytical skills and connected me with other young people who I hold very dearly today. The certificate, skills, and people have opened doors for me in journalism, and now, in public service — Ibraheem Abdullateef 2022, special assistant on media to Kwara State Governor, Nigeria

African Liberty Writing Fellowship gave me the first platform to write regularly and get paid with serious editorial guidance. I racked up bylines in national dailies, and that gave me a lot of visibility as a writer. The experience from this fellowship helped me secure another fellowship almost immediately — Ope Adetayo 2021, writes for Aljazeera, Vice, Foreign Policy, The Guardian

I became an African Liberty Writing Fellow as a campus journalist and final year student of mass communication at the Lagos State University. The year-long fellowship propelled my career and brought along other opportunities — Mariam Ileyemi 2021, reporter, Premium Times

Apart from honing my writing skills, which landed me a handful of gigs in journalism, African Liberty got me into my first international conference, where I met the professor with whom I co-authored an academic paper that aided my admission into the Ph.D. program at the University of Texas at Dallas. — PhD student 2020, University of Texas at Dallas

FAQs

1. Is this a paid fellowship? This is a paid fellowship. Compensation is contingent upon a monthly assessment. Please beware that we do not consider financial compensation until a fellow is inducted.

2. How competitive is the program? We received approximately 1600 applications in 2022/2023 with 50 invited to the 5-week training. We inducted 25 as writing fellows.

3. Do you accept applications for senior fellowships? No.

4. What qualifications do I need? An applicant has to be enrolled in, or must have graduated from, an African institution of higher learning. Or, be an African pursuing higher education outside the continent.

5. When does the program start and end? 5-week training runs from 21 May 2024 to 18 June 2024. The writing fellowship starts on July 8, 2024, and ends on July 8, 2025.

6. Where is the program taken? The program, from the 5-week training to the last day of the writing fellowship, is done entirely online.

7. Is there an application fee? No

8. Is there an admission fee? No

9. What is SFL? It is an abbreviation for Students For Liberty; African Liberty is a project of SFL.

10. Who should I contact for questions? Please contact the editor, Ibrahim Anoba (ianoba@africanliberty.org)

11. When does the application close? April 30, 2024