The deputy government spokesperson, Prince Bubacarr Aminata Sankanu, is selected by the African Union (AU) as part of the 2023-2024 cohort of its flagship Media Fellowship programme. Mr. Sankanu is among 20 young professionals chosen from a pool of some 6000 candidates from around Africa and the Diaspora based on a very rigorous and stringent selection mechanism.
In their congratulatory letter announcing Mr. Sankanu’s successful application, the organizers said “Prince Sankanu was selected on the criteria of innovation and the power to challenge harmful stereotypes while promoting balanced discourse about the African Continent.”
An initiative of the African Union Commission, the AU Media Fellowship (AUMF) is supported by the German Government through the “Citizen Engagement and Innovative Data Use for Africa’s Development (DataCipation II) Project.” The programme aims at revolutionizing African media by promoting cross-border coverage and encouraging collaborations between policymakers and journalists. It is mplemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
As part of the 12-month fellowship with both field training and online modules under the supervision of worldly accomplished mentors, Mr. Sankanu will attend the Civic Tech Innovation Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa and a high-level AU meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he will meet and network with continental decision-makers and influencers.
Thereafter, Deputy Spokesperson Sankanu will receive a grant to produce a compelling report on: “The Trajectories of The Gambia’s Public Communication Apparatus Since 2017” capturing the Access to Information Act, 2021 and related media reform milestones of the Barrow Administration.
