Meet the Pulitzer Center at AIJC 2026

The Pulitzer Center will be in Nairobi for the African Investigative Journalism Conference taking place November 10-12, 2026. We’ll be sharing new tools for journalists to conduct their reporting and amplifying the work of our grantees in Africa. Topics we are covering range from AI accountability, women in journalism, impact in journalism, and Pulitzer Center AI-powered tools for environmental investigations.

Women in Journalism in Africa: Issues in Investigative Journalism

November 10 | 10:25am–11:15am

From leading newsrooms to running an investigation, from career pathways to the solutions we can share with each other about what it takes to thrive—and succeed—in journalism, this panel, hosted by Pulitzer Center and African Women in News, explores the multi-faceted world of journalism through the lenses of African women.

Moderator:

• Rozina Breen, Pulitzer Center, Director of Editorial, Global

Speakers:

• Irene Odera, African Women in News, Programmes Officer
• Joy Kirigia, Africa Uncensored, Investigative journalist
• Maggie Michael, Reuters, Investigative Journalist

An Editor’s Guide to AI

November 10 | 11:40am–12:20pm

Learn to refine and edit AI accountability reporting with nuance that leads to impactful stories.

Speakers:

• Naipanoi Lepapa, Pulitzer Center, Journalist

Gender and AI: Investigating Harm, Bias, and Accountability

November 10 | 12:40pm–1:30pm

AI and automated systems are shaping decisions in banking, health, workplaces, public services, and online platforms. Drawing on African reporting, this panel looks at how journalists can investigate when women are harmed, test what role the technology played, find evidence when systems are opaque, and trace who made the decisions and who should answer.

Speakers:

• Catherine Gicheru, African Women Journalism Proiect, Director
• Elvine Tina Ouma, African Women Journalism Project, Gender + AI Fellow
• Dr. Grace Githaiga, KICTANet, Convenor
• Ibrahim Adeyemi, HumAngle, Investigations Editor

Raise Your Flag Session

November 10 | 2:30pm–3:20pm

Making Impact Work in Journalism:

Journalists around the world increasingly believe their work should do more than inform: It should build understanding, strengthen trust, and help communities engage with the issues that affect them. New global research from the Pulitzer Center reveals a persistent gap between this ambition and the systems needed to make impact practice consistent, ethical, and sustainable.

Drawing on "Impact in Journalism: A Global Report on Current Practices, Challenges, and Emerging Trends," the session will share how newsrooms, independent journalists, and engagement practitioners are defining and pursuing impact, and explore the reason many journalists plan impact-oriented actions but lack practical frameworks, dedicated roles, resources, and measurement tools to guide their work. 

The session will share approaches for moving from isolated engagement activities to an intentional impact practice and consider how such systems can be adapted for local media ecosystems, especially where community radio, journalists, civil-society actors, and content creators play a vital role in connecting public-interest reporting with public dialogue and accountability.

Fundraising: New Narratives

There is untapped money available to fund independent journalism at newsrooms in Africa. This session will show you how to go beyond individual story grants and find sustainable donor funding. Since 2022 New Narratives has raised as much as a $1 million dollars a year to fund journalism at leading newsrooms in West Africa. Donors have included embassies, international foundations, individual donors. We have also engaged in consortiums. In this session Prue Clarke, executive director, will share insights and start a conversation about consortiums for future grant calls. 

Speakers:

• Flora Pereira, Pulitzer Center, Chief Impact Officer
• Prue Clarke, New Narratives, Executive Director

Kenya’s AI Health System That Makes the Poor Pay

November 11 | 12:30pm–1:20pm

In May, Africa Uncensored, Lighthouse Reports, and The Guardian published a series of investigations into an AI system that calculates public healthcare premiums in Kenya. Our investigation found that it overcharges the poorest Kenyans while undercharging the wealthiest. 

Governments across Africa are deploying AI systems that decide who gets government subsidies and how much you pay for healthcare.

This panel will explore how journalists can investigate them: from discovering that a system exists, to obtaining data through access-to-information laws and sources, to auditing the system itself and how to find and tell the human stories that reveal its real-world consequences. 

Speakers:

• Joy Kirigia, Africa Uncensored, Investigative journalist
• Purity Mukami, Freelance, Data journalist
• Gabriel Geiger, Lighthouse Reports, Investigative journalist

Africa Mining Watch: AI-Driven Satellite Analysis for Environmental Journalism

November 11 | 3:20pm–4:10pm

This is a hands-on workshop introducing the practical use of Africa Mining Watch, the first comprehensive, open dataset tracking mining activities in the continent using satellite imagery and machine-learning algorithms. It is a game-changer for environmental journalism, opening up major possibilities—from spotting hotspots of illegal mining, to tracking expansion of mining operations, or mapping the incursion of mining into Indigenous territories.

During the session, we will do a guided walkthrough of the platform and work through step-by-step exercises to explore the mining datasets using open source tools. We will also share practical tips and best practices based on the Pulitzer Center’s methodology for successfully integrating the Africa Mining Watch open dataset into environmental investigations.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have a clear understanding of Africa Mining Watch’s strengths and limitations, and how to add it to their investigative toolbox. They will also learn how to use the platform and the open dataset to spot leads and investigative story ideas.  

IMPORTANT: Participants should bring their own laptops. No previous experience or coding skills are required.

Moderator:

• Madeleine Ngeunga, Pulitzer Center, Regional Editor Africa

Speakers:

• Jonas Kiriko, Freelance, Investigative journalist
• Eric Wamugu, Code For Africa, Senior Program Manager
• Abdullah Tijani, The Liberalist, Managing editor

Defanging the Risk to Climate Journalists

November 11 | 4:30pm–5:20pm

Using resources developed by IPI, including a risk assessment and decoding disinformation guides, we seek to build the knowledge and capacity of climate and environmental journalists in Africa to assess and mitigate physical, digital, and legal risks they may face before, during, and after assignments on climate and environmental topics. The session will be framed to build the capacity of various types of journalists, including editors, newsroom journalists, freelancers, and public-interest bloggers who cover these issues. Gender perspectives will be integrated into the session to reflect and respond to the experiences of both female and male journalists. The session will be participatory, drawing input from participants and ensuring their active participation in testing the utility of the training tools.

Speakers:

• Nompilo Simanje, International Press Institute, Africa Programme Lead
• Madeleine Ngeunga, Pulitzer Center, Regional Editor Africa
• Berdy Pambou, TV5Monde - Republic of Congo
• Jonas Kiriko, Freelance, Investigative journalist

The 3 Pillars of Environmental Reporting

November 12 | 11:20am–12:10pm

Learn to report environmental issues accurately while understanding their nuanced connection to climate change. This participant-led session explores the three pillars of environmental reporting through top investigative stories, helping both new and experienced journalists strengthen their reporting.

Whether it is floods, forest loss, or heatwaves, journalists have been at the forefront of environmental reporting. The problem, however, is the persistent disconnect between the story being reported and the actual issue. So, how do we report on the environment? What are the pillars? And how do we ensure we don't misreport an issue as climate-related when it isn't?

Whether you call yourself an environmental journalist, a science journalist, a climate journalist, or simply a journalist, this session is for anyone who wants to get it right.

So, what are these three pillars? Join us and let us learn together.

Speaker:

• Ibrahim Khalilulahi Usman, Africa Zero Waste Journalist Network, Investigative Journalist

How To Report on AI When You’re Not an AI Expert

November 12 | 12:20pm–1:10pm

AI is transforming Africa—from mobile money to biometric IDs. Yet most African investigative journalists don’t consider themselves “AI reporters.” This training session by former Pulitzer Center AI Accountability Fellow Marché Arends shows how to cover AI’s civic impacts without technical expertise. Using African case studies and practical tools, you’ll learn to cut through hype, interrogate power, and connect AI to any reporting beat. Leave with sharper questions, stronger story framing skills, and the confidence to help ensure Africa has a powerful voice in the global AI discourse.

Speaker:

• Marché Arends, Pulitzer Center AI Accountability Fellow, Investigative journalist

Investigating AI-Powered Scams: OSINT Techniques for Journalists

November 12 | 12:20pm–1:10pm

This session will explore how investigative journalists can use open-source intelligence (OSINT) and digital forensic tools to uncover AI-driven online scams that are rapidly spreading across social media platforms. 

Drawing from my investigation into fraudulent “AI-powered” investment schemes targeting Nigerians, the session will demonstrate how scammers use deepfake videos, synthetic identities, cloned voices, and manipulated endorsements to create the illusion of credibility.

Participants will learn practical investigative techniques used to expose these networks, including verifying manipulated media with tools such as InVID-WeVerify and AI-detection platforms, tracing scam infrastructure through domain registration records, and using online communities like Trustpilot and Reddit to identify victims and track scam evolution.

The session will also examine the role of social media platforms in amplifying these scams and discuss how journalists can better hold tech platforms accountable while protecting audiences from increasingly sophisticated digital deception.

Speaker:

• Nurudeen Akewushola, International Center for Investigative Reporting, Investigative Journalist