Free online training course (MOOC) to promote the emergence of innovative media in Africa

Free online training course (MOOC) to promote the emergence of innovative media in Africa

With mobile telephony and, to a lesser extent, the internet developing apace, the media are increasingly called upon to anticipate African consumers' switch to digital.

Although foreign initiatives on this apparently promising market are plentiful, the African media still suffer from a dearth of information technology professionals and limited access to the capital with which to develop new services and content. CFI and Code for Africa have therefore launched the #AfriqueInnovation project, which is allocating a budget of $1 million to the most innovative African projects. A key stage in this project is an MOOC offered in French, lasting 12 weeks and targeting not only journalists but also African web developers. It goes online on 6 July and enrolment is now open.

An MOOC offering a dual learning programme – hitherto unknown in online education

As part of the ambitious #AfriqueInnovation* project, this MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) online training platform will involve two parallel learning programmes of 12 weeks each: one for journalists and bloggers with genuine digital agility and capable of initiating innovative projects in step with new technology usage (mobile telephones, social networking, etc.); and the other for developers and designers who are able to create websites and mobile apps and to make the most of the opportunities offered by data to produce information. There will be a degree of overlap between the two learning programmes in order to lay the foundations of subsequent collaborative partnerships between journalists and developers.

After the MOOC, a top-level well-funded competition

Upon completion of their training course, which will culminate in the award of a certificate of accomplishment, the most savvy amongst the young African web professionals should be in a position to present an innovative project to the Afrique Innovation panel of judges in the hope that – if they are one of the award-winners – they will receive a share of the $1 million grant on offer from the organisers.

www.mooc.afrique-innovation.com

www.facebook.com/AfriqueInnovationMedias

* #AfriqueInnovation: a project led by CFI and Code for Africa that aims to mentor a new generation of African media professionals. This MOOC and actions in the field (hackathons, bootcamps, etc.) will attempt to kickstart and develop an ecosystem bringing together journalists and IT developers with a view to inventing tomorrow's media in order to create and develop information goods and services in step with evolution in terms of technology, usage and the expectations of Africa's citizens.

Afrique Innovation, a project by:

In partnership with:


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