In 2014, the IWMF created the African Great Lakes Reporting Initiative (AGLRI), a program designed to support journalists in pursuing stories beyond the well-established narratives of political instability, armed conflicts, and humanitarian crises in the region.

Throughout the Initiative’s five years, the IWMF led groups of international women journalists to the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. The AGLRI also provided trainings and offered support for in-country journalists in the program countries, including essential security training to help journalists stay safe in the field and quality reporting support.

Through this initiative, IWMF Fellows covered a wide range of under-reported issues including issues of empowerment, democracy, food security and conservation efforts. Their work was produced and published by leading media outlets around the world.

The AGLRI ended in 2018, with the program’s last trip to the Central African Republic. In January 2019, a group of women from the more than 14 countries across the African continent joined to take part in a Leadership Bootcamp hosted by the IWMF and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.

The African Great Lakes Reporting Initiative was funded by a generous gift from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.