EJN is hosting a two-day virtual media workshop on October 21-22, 2026, on forest governance primarily targeting journalists from Ghana, Liberia and Cameroon. Journalists from forest risk commodity (FRC) consumer markets in Europe and Asia (such as the European Union, United Kingdom, China and India) are also encouraged to apply. The workshop aims to strengthen journalists’ knowledge of forest governance issues and improve their reporting on challenges and solutions in sustainable forest management.
Overview
Forest governance across Africa is gaining recognition as a cornerstone of continental action on climate change, biodiversity conservation and the fight against poverty and inequality. A number of African governments are now transferring forest management rights to local communities, ensuring that the perspectives of historically marginalized groups—especially women and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs)—are heard and included. At the same time, fresh opportunities are emerging for responsible investment in Africa’s forests, ranging from trade in verified legal and sustainable timber and non-timber products to growing markets for carbon credits and nature-based solutions.
Yet despite these positive developments, the 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment published in October last year found 86% of annual global deforestation is driven by permanent agriculture, while other drivers such as mining add increasing pressure on forests, with primary forest loss being particularly severe in Tropical Africa.
Forest governance continues to face deep-rooted challenges across the continent, including weak law enforcement, limited transparency and accountability, insufficient inclusion of stakeholders in decision-making, obstacles to civil society and community engagement in policy processes and sustainable forest enterprises, and the continued side-lining of women and other vulnerable groups.
To support local journalists to bring global attention to these issues, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is offering this two-day virtual media workshop under its Forest Governance Media Initiative (FGMI). The workshop will equip journalists wanting to produce high-quality, evidence-based stories that amplify the voices of marginalized groups with the knowledge and tools to report on forest governance topics in Ghana, Liberia and Cameroon and to expand their reporting network. This work is funded with UK International Development from the UK government.
Journalists who participate in the workshop will:
- Gain a clear understanding of Global Forest Commitments 2030, including the promises made, the gaps in implementation and the key accountability challenges relevant to African reporting.
- Learn how to report effectively on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and the Global Biodiversity Framework, with practical guidance on turning complex international policies into compelling African stories.
- Master investigative techniques for exposing forest governance failures, including accountability reporting on weak enforcement, transparency gaps and the marginalization of communities and women.
- Explore investigative angles on commodity-driven deforestation, focusing on gold mining, illegal logging and cocoa production in Africa, as well as the role and limitations of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licensing.
- Examine community forestry and REDD+ in practice, analyzing real success stories, conflicts on the ground and the gap between community rights promises and actual outcomes.
- Develop practical journalistic skills through analyzing real reporting examples, using data visualization tools, applying investigative techniques for monitoring government and corporate actions, identifying diverse local/regional/international sources and pitching cross-border story ideas with access to FGMI resources.
Themes
The virtual workshop will be conducted in English.
Participants will engage in interactive sessions led by expert trainers, including forestry specialists, investigative journalists and policy analysts. The training will cover general areas such as:
- REDD+, community forestry, illegal logging and related activities, cocoa plantations and forest law enforcement.
- Illegal logging, mining and deforestation, financial crimes, EU-Liberia directives and agreements.
- Impacts of gold mining and cocoa production on forests, implementation of FLEGT licensing.
- International forest governance processes, trade relationships or policies that affect Indonesia, Vietnam, Cameroon, Liberia and Ghana, such as the EUDR, REDD+, the Global Biodiversity Framework, etc.
Sessions will include presentations on key concepts, case studies, data visualization tips, safety protocols for reporting in sensitive areas and group discussions to foster collaborative storytelling ideas.
Eligibility
Applicants can be from any African country. However, preference will be given to applicants from Ghana, Liberia and Cameroon and Journalists from FRC consumer markets in Europe and Asia (such as the EU, UK, China and India) particularly those covering environment, natural resources, agriculture, mining or governance beats.
Applications are invited from journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio, multimedia) and other expert media practitioners with professional reporting experience.
We welcome applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—community-based, local, national and international. We especially encourage women, rural, Indigenous, underrepresented communities and early-career journalists to apply.
Applicants must have a good command of English and reliable internet access to join the virtual sessions.
Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of generative AI tools, if any, to revise their proposals. EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, submitting AI-generated content as their own.
Logistics
EJN planS to accept approximately 30 journalists. Successful applicants will be notified around one month after the application deadline.
The workshop will take place virtually on Zoom over two consecutive days on October 21 and 22, 2026. It will consist of four hours of training sessions each day (from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM GMT, to accommodate participants across the focus countries).
Participants who attend all sessions will receive a certificate of completion from EJN.
To ensure these workshops are accessible, EJN will offer a limited number of communications stipends to those with an unstable internet connection in remote areas.
This workshop is part of EJN’s broader efforts under FGMI to support media organizations and journalists in producing impactful stories on forest governance across Africa and Asia. Stay tuned for upcoming story grants and mentoring opportunities.
Application deadline: 13th August, 2026
