Rosental Alves, Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, and Khadija Patel, Director, International Fund for Public Interest Media, will deliver keynote addresses on the theme ‘WSCIJ @20: Investigative reporting and the future of truth’, at the two-day 2025 Amplify In-depth Media Conference & Awards as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and its flagship programme, Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) turn 20. The conference will be on Zoom at 11:00 a.m. daily, while the public award presentation will be a physical event at the AGIP Recital Hall of the MUSON Centre Lagos by 4:00 pm.
The two-day conference which will hold virtually this year will discuss strategies for fail-proofing journalism for the future, evolving landscape of cracy, civic space health, investigative journalism, sustainability, challenges posed by misinformation and emerging technologies, while inspiring the next generation of journalists. The first day will have Alves keynote while Jimeh Saleh, Executive Director of the Amana Inclusive Tech Initiative (AITI) will compere with Rozina Breen, Director of Editorial Programs, Pulitzer Center; Miranda Patrucic, Editor-in-Chief, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP); Joshua Olufemi, Founder, Dataphyte; and Motunrayo Alaka, Executive Director/CEO, WSCIJ as panellists.
On day two, Patel will give the keynote. This will be followed by a panel discussion titled ‘Sustaining truth: An intergenerational conversation on democracy, and the future of investigative journalism with Stella Din-Jacob, Director, Mustel Creative Works Ltd; Luke Feltham, Editor-in-Chief, Business Day (South Africa); Rishad Patel, Co-founder, Splice, Singapore; and Catherine Maborukoje, Mass Communication student, Nigerian Institute of Journalism. Azeezat Olaoluwa, West Africa Correspondent at Deutsche Welle (DW), will be the compere.
With the 20th anniversary of the organisation and its awards programme WSCIJ marks two decades of normalising accountability and commitment to recognising and rewarding excellence in journalism across print, radio, television, photography, online media, and editorial cartoons, covering themes such as regulatory failures, corruption in the public and corporate sectors, and human rights abuses. We also celebrate the 5th edition of the conference that now traditionally precedes the award presentation event. We remain guided by the values of truth, collaboration, and innovation that have defined our work to date.
WSCIJ invites journalists, media practitioners, and members of the public to register to attend these landmark conference and award events to mark its 20th anniversary.
Signed
Motunrayo Alaka
Executive Director/CEO, WSCIJ
About WSCIJ
The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation committed to strengthening democracy by exposing corruption, regulatory failures, abuse of power, and human rights violations through investigative and accountability journalism. For 20 years, the WSCIJ has evolved from an annual award into a leading institution shaping the standards and culture of public-interest reporting in Nigeria. WSCIJ’s programmes including the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting, Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series, themed investigative reporting trainings, Report Women and it’s Female Reporters Leadership Programme, Civic Space Guard, media rights dialogues, investigative reporting fellowships, and sub-national reporting initiatives has empowered thousands of journalists, newsrooms and news media support organisations with training, mentorship, grants, and recognition. These efforts have strengthened newsroom leadership, ethics, inclusion, sustainability and the practice of evidence-driven reporting. Recent initiatives such as the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusivity and Accountability (CMEDIA) project have further expanded WSCIJ’s reach, amplifying diverse voices and promoting collaborative, innovative journalism at the local levels of governance. For two decades, WSCIJ has remained steadfast in its mission: advancing a bold, ethical, inclusive media that defends truth and makes accountability a shared culture.
