IRIN is competing for funding from Innovate Africa, as part of an innovation challenge focused on journalism and the news media.
This contest focuses on developing ‘real world’ solutions to challenges faced by the media. Help us make our ideas better by sharing your thoughts and suggestions via social media. Remember to tag @irinnews and #innovateAFRICA!
An immersive multimedia journalism unit
IRIN wants to build an immersive journalism unit that matches our world-class reporting about crises in Africa with interactive, multimedia, multi-platform storytelling that demands the world’s attention.
Enhancing our existing digital platform will allow it to better host immersive multimedia content, including 360/VR video viewing experiences and interactive long-form reportage. We want to optimize and customize our email newsletter, build a mobile news delivery app, and invest in drones, 360 cameras and livestreaming.
Imagine taking a virtual reality journey through the Sahel on the back of a migrant smuggling truck, or experiencing through 360 video what it’s like to live in a village destroyed by climate change. In the age of Trump and Brexit, we need to take people out of their bubbles and inspire collective empathy.
A news gateway for Africa, in partnership with GDELT
IRIN and GDELT will create a “Google News” with a difference for Africa, with views, filters and more, enabling neglected stories to be brought back into the limelight.
What are Middle Eastern news outlets saying about Sudan? How does China view Angola? How does Nigerian media report on Kenya? Through this front-end gateway, we will harness the power of the massive GDELT dataset to present news from -- and about -- Africa from around the world.
With rich filtering, taxonomy and tagging, and publisher-neutral identity, this uniquely powerful resource could fuel business intelligence, social development and reclaim the conversation about Africa for the continent.
A platform for African voices on failed aid, in partnership with What Went Wrong
IRIN and What Went Wrong will bring accountability to emergency aid through participatory journalism (online, through SMS, and offline) by and for crisis-hit communities in Africa.
From unfinished schools to broken boreholes, from shipments of mismatching socks to sex-for-food scandals, we will survey residents of crisis-hit communities about failed aid projects in their area, map their feedback onto an interactive platform, and complement these community reports with on-the-ground reportage to highlight the most egregious cases, explain the nuances and look for solutions. We will encourage transparent debate with aid agencies through social media and share results locally via radio partners.
The most crucial voice in the aid debate is often absent: the voice of the beneficiary. This work combines mobile survey feedback loops and investigative journalism to amplify the voices of vulnerable African communities, connecting them directly with wide audiences locally and internationally for greater transparency and effectiveness in aid.
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Peter DiCampo/What Went Wrong