The 4th Amplify In-depth Media Conference (AIM Conference) and 19th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) will hold on Sunday 8 and Monday 9, December 2024. Conversations around the theme ‘Media credibility, investigative reporting and artificial intelligence’ will explore the intersection of traditional journalism practices, the rise of AI technology, and the trustworthiness of media content. The two-day virtual conference will kick off at 1:00 PM daily while the awards ceremony slated for 9 December commences at 5:00 PM at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos. Participants are welcome to attend in person or join online via Zoom, and YouTube livestream.

The 2024 edition AIM Conference provides a platform for knowledge sharing and discussions to assess the need for ethical oversight to ensure that AI tools are used transparently and responsibly, preserving journalistic integrity while maintaining the audience’s trust. The Conference is part of activities under WSCIJ’s Civic Space Guard programme tagged ‘Leveraging the power of the media to fortify the civic space and tackle malinformation’ in partnership with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the Netherlands Embassy.

The 2024 Wole Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) will draw the curtain on the two-day hybrid event. The award rewards, promotes and encourages best practices in journalism works from the print, radio, television, photo, online, and editorial cartoon broad categories on themes ranging from regulatory failures, corruption in the public and corporate spheres, and human rights abuses in Nigeria.

Out of 219 total entries received, 191 valid entries were sent to the 2024 award judges for evaluation. These included 120 entries in the online category, 4 cartoons, 27 in print, 16 in photography, 10 in radio, and 14 in television.

Since its inception in 2005, 119 finalists have emerged, and 13 journalists have been honoured as Investigative Journalist of the Year. Also, 29 Nigerians have been awarded the Honorary Award (Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence and Anti-corruption Award) for their contributions to the media profession and stance against corruption. The award holds annually on December 9- World Anti-Corruption Day and the eve of Human Rights Day, to acknowledge best practices in investigative journalism and their import for democracy.

The AIM Conference’s first edition coincided with the 2020 Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR), themed ‘Masked not silenced’.  The 2022 and 2023 editions in partnership with the Media and Journalism (MAJ) cohort of the MacArthur Foundation’s On Nigeria Project” dissected the broad themes of ‘Nigeria’s democracy, the media profession and investigative journalism practices’ and ‘The independent media equation: Policies, ownership, technology and sustainability’.

Expected in attendance are investigative reporters, editors, media owners, government representatives, diplomatic corps members, civil society representatives, donor organisations, and other stakeholders.

Signed

Motunrayo Alaka

ED/CEO, WSCIJ