Meet the Editor Training Africa’s Next Green Journalists
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📰 The quick summary: Mongabay Africa’s multimedia and fellowship editor Juliette Chapalain is building a growing network of trained African environmental journalists, helping ensure that critical stories about the continent’s ecosystems and communities reach a global audience.
📈 One key stat: 24 African journalists have been trained through Mongabay’s French-language fellowship program so far, forming a growing network of environmental storytellers across the continent.
💬 One key quote: “The African continent has the largest terrestrial carbon sink in the world, ahead of the Amazon,” says Juliette Chapalain, adding that “what is happening there is fundamental for a sustainable ecological future on the global stage.”
1️⃣ The big picture: Africa holds the world’s largest terrestrial carbon sink and faces urgent environmental challenges, yet dedicated journalism covering these issues has historically been limited. Mongabay launched its Africa bureau in 2023 to fill that gap, reporting in both French and English. Juliette Chapalain joined as multimedia and fellowship editor, bringing over a decade of experience reporting on African economic, social and environmental issues for major French and international outlets. She now leads a multimedia team, oversees a French-language podcast and YouTube channel, and runs a fellowship program that trains African environmental journalists. Her work combines editorial leadership with mentorship, building a continent-wide network of storytellers equipped to report on the issues that matter most.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: A new generation of African environmental journalists is receiving hands-on training, mentorship and editorial support, giving local voices the tools to report on issues that directly affect their communities. Strengthening this reporter network means more stories about Africa’s ecosystems, wildlife and climate challenges will reach both local and global audiences. Greater coverage of threats to protected areas and carbon sinks can create public pressure that helps slow environmentally damaging practices, as Chapalain’s own investigations have shown. Building diverse, multilingual journalism capacity across Africa also helps ensure that environmental reporting reflects the full range of cultures and perspectives on the continent. All of this contributes to a more informed global conversation about one of the planet’s most ecologically vital regions.
3️⃣ What’s next: Mongabay’s fellowship program continues to recruit and train new cohorts of African environmental journalists, expanding the network further. Chapalain and her team plan to grow multilingual multimedia content, including video and podcast output across the continent. Investigative stories already in progress hint at more unreported environmental conflicts yet to be published.
Read the full story here: Mongabay – Juliette Chapalain on building networks and nurturing talent to tell Africa’s environmental stories
