JRS is proud to highlight the ongoing work of one of its longest-running and successful grant projects — InfoNile, implemented by Water Journalists Africa since 2019.   Below we share a report of a recent photo-journalism event in Kampala from InfoNile’s Communication Officer, Delicate Sive.

As the world’s longest river winds through 11 countries in Africa, it intricately weaves the people’s economies, culture and well being. The Nile River, a global centre of biodiversity, is a lifeline to many of Africa’s fragile ecosystems. It dictates and in many ways determines millions of livelihoods critical for the region’s development. Nonetheless, climate change, population growth, transboundary hydro-politics, and large-scale dams threaten its biodiversity and adequate water availability for the people and countries highly dependent on the Nile Basin waters.

In an attempt to document these critical water and biodiversity issues, InfoNile in partnership with Media in Cooperation and Training (MiCT) and FOTEA, with support from the IHE-Delft Water and Development Partnership Programme, JRS Biodiversity Foundation and  Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (GIZ), for 7 months trained and mentored 10 journalists from 10 Nile Basin countries (Burundi, DRC, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan,Tanzania and Uganda) to document everyday water stories around the Nile River and its tributaries. This culminated to the launch of the 2024 #EverydayNile Photojournalism Project at Nommo Gallery, in Kampala, Uganda on 1st November.

The stories are published under the hashtag #EverydayNile, a photojournalism outreach project that captures everyday life in the Nile Basin countries and aims to promote cooperation and understanding of the water issues around the Nile River as a shared natural resource. The theme for the 2024 #EverydayNile photo-stories is “Water and Biodiversity in the Nile Basin.”

The exhibition launch included topical discussions between journalists, scientists, policymakers and the general public, a panel discussion featuring #EverydayNile photojournalists, a networking reception with journalists and scientists, as well as an exhibition walk-through.

Read more about Water Journalists Africa and the InfoNile Grant here.