One year after completing Mongabay Africa’s environmental journalism grants, a cohort of Sahel-based journalists has taken the initiative to form the African Network of Francophone Environmental Journalists (RAJEF).
Officially launched on February 26th, the network aims to strengthen environmental reporting across Francophone Africa, beginning with a fact-checking training session.
The six founding members, hailing from Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Ivory Coast, participated in Mongabay’s 2024 “Green Renaissance” program. Their shared experience led to the creation of RAJEF, which seeks to enhance journalistic capacity in environmental coverage. Juste Edgard Agbanou of Togo chairs the network, supported by a leadership team spanning the region.
“After receiving the Mongabay Africa environmental journalism training grant, we felt a strong desire to belong to a dedicated group—a space to share experiences, knowledge, and challenges,” says Agbanou. “Given the lack of a robust Francophone network, we decided to create RAJEF. This platform enables environmental professionals to collaborate and provide the public with accurate information on critical issues.”
RAJEF’s ambitions are broad. It plans to offer specialized training, foster investigative and solutions-focused reporting, and improve media coverage of environmental issues through fact-based journalism. The network is also open to future Mongabay grant recipients and Francophone African journalists, providing access to training and collaboration tools via its website and social media.
With its launch, RAJEF seeks to unify Francophone voices in environmental journalism, amplifying their impact at a time when misinformation threatens informed discourse. As it expands, the network aspires to become a vital resource for journalists dedicated to covering climate and conservation issues in the region.
