Inside AFP
Aminatou Lamarana Diallo and Patrick-William Yao win 3rd AFP Africa Scholarship, in partnership with AFD
For its 3rd edition, the AFP Africa Scholarship has been awarded to two students from the CESTI Dakar and ISTC Polytechnique Abidjan journalism institutes.
The selection of these winners concludes a year of exchanges, meetings and assistance with initial training between AFP and several journalism schools in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, thanks to the support of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
This partnership with journalism institutes in Africa forms part of AFP's wider policy in terms of corporate social responsibility and taking actions that favour greater diversity within its newsrooms.
The aim of the exams for this 3rd AFP Africa Scholarship was to put the students, over a one-day period, in working conditions identical to those of a news agency, with press conferences, interviews, translation of dispatches from English, selection of photos and rewriting for multimedia use etc.
Stéphane Barbier, AFP bureau chief for Abidjan, gives lessons to students at the Institut des Sciences et techniques de la Communication (ISTC) on April 21, 2021. © SIA KAMBOU / AFP
The jury crowned Aminatou Lamarana Diallo, a 22-year-old Senegalese student from CESTI, and Patrick-William Yao, a 23-year-old Ivorian student from ISTC.
These two students have been awarded a scholarship that will allow them to work a month at an AFP bureau in Africa, and 15 days in the various editorial departments at AFP’s headquarters in Paris.
"I am delighted to have been selected, I hope this opportunity will allow me to master my agency writing and develop my skills in photojournalism and video shooting, both in Paris and at a bureau in Africa," said Aminatou Lamarana Diallo. This image and video enthusiast will discover an international newsroom for the first time, after internships at the L'Observateur daily and at the public television station RTS1 in Dakar.
"I would like to deepen my knowledge of agency writing, enhance my knowledge of fact-checking at AFP’s headquarters in Paris, and go on the field for reports during my time at the Agency’s bureaus", he says.
About AFP
AFP is a leading global news agency providing fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the events shaping our world and of the issues affecting our daily lives. Drawing from an unparalleled news gathering network across 151 countries, AFP is also a world leader in digital verification. With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world in six languages, with a unique quality of multimedia storytelling spanning video, text, photos and graphics.
About AFD
The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) funds, supports and accelerates the transitions to a fairer and more sustainable world. Focusing on climate, biodiversity, peace, education, urban development, health and governance, our teams carry out more than 4,000 projects in France’s overseas departments and territories and another 115 countries. In this way, we contribute to the commitment of France and French people to support the sustainable development goals.