Nobel laureate and awarded Cameroonian journalist to address Global Investigative Journalism meeting
- Wits University
Joseph E. Stiglitz will deliver the keynote address and Mimi Mefo, the Carlos Cardoso Memorial Lecture.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and award winning Cameroonian journalist, Mimi Mefo will be among 70 lauded thought-leaders from around the world who will speak at the 15th African Investigative Journalism Conference hosted by Wits Journalism from 28-30 October 2019.
Mefo will deliver the Carlos Cardoso Memorial Lecture on 28 October 2019, while Stiglitz will do a keynote address on the importance of investigative journalism, and the challenges it faces.
Mefo is a print and broadcast journalist who became the first-ever woman editor-in-chief of the English service of the private media house, Equinoxe TV and Radio. Last year, she established an online news site, Mimi Mefo Info which provides Cameroonians and readers worldwide with up-to-date and objective information about the escalating violence and unrest in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.
Over the last year, Mimi Mefo Info, through its website, Facebook and Twitter platforms, has become a trusted source of independent news for millions, as the Cameroonian government’s crackdown on the media has intensified, making it harder for many to report on the ongoing violence.
As a result of her relentless reporting, Mefo has been the target of online harassment, cyberattacks and physical surveillance. She was arrested and imprisoned for reporting that the Cameroon military was responsible for the killing of Wesco Trumann, an American missionary who was shot and killed in the North West region of Cameroon.
Stiglitz is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is also the co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress at the OECD, and the Chief Economist of the Roosevelt Institute. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science (2001).
Other confirmed speakers include winners of the Global Shining Light, Wole Soyinka and Taco Kuiper awards such as John-Allan Namu, Anas Anas, Maggie Michael, Jacques Pauw, Pauli van Wyk and the team from Bellingcat to name, but a few.
More than 62 different sessions are planned, rich in new skills, ideas, stories and lots of opportunity to network, learn and contribute. Discussions will unpack issues like the experiences of women investigative reporters, the ethics of undercover reporting and the motives behind investigative journalism. The conference will also include tracks on the latest in cutting edge digital tools and techniques including using satellite imagery, environmental sensors, robot journalism, and uncovering the secrets of the web.