Legacy of Two Newsroom Icons
In many corners of the African media landscape, the names Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon conjure images of intrepid reporting rather than tragedy alone. The Radio France Internationale correspondents were killed in Kidal in 2013, yet their pursuit of factual accuracy across contested terrains continues to animate the scholarship that bears their names. Twelve years on, the initiative has quietly evolved into one of the most coveted gateways for young francophone professionals seeking to master field reportage. According to RFI’s training department, more than 1 000 applications were received in 2024, an indicator that the brand of journalism championed by Dupont and Verlon—rigorous, empathetic and solution-oriented—retains significant traction across the continent.
Dakar and the Geopolitics of Media Training
The 2025 edition will be staged in Dakar, a city increasingly recognised as a West African knowledge hub. France Médias Monde’s Hub Afrique, inaugurated in 2023 and equipped with multimedia studios built to International Telecommunication Union specifications, offers logistical advantages that were absent when earlier cohorts were trained in Bamako or Abidjan. Senegal’s current status as a diplomatic bridge between Francophone West and Central Africa, underscored by its stable political environment and thriving creative industries, also weighed in the selection, RFI executives confirm. UNESCO’s 2023 ‘World Trends in Freedom of Expression’ report lists Dakar among the safest capitals for journalists south of the Sahara, a statistic that reassures programme partners such as the INA and the journalism school of Sciences Po.
Who Can Apply and How
The call targets journalists and radio technicians under 35 who have accrued at least two years of professional experience and who reside in one of 27 eligible francophone nations, including the Republic of the Congo. Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae, a motivation letter, a completed form and an audio sample—either a news report or a technical montage—by 24 August 2025. RFI’s human-resources director Nathalie Roussel emphasises that “storytelling capacity weighs as heavily as raw technical skill” in the selection matrix, a philosophy reflected in the gender-balanced track record of past laureates. A pre-jury will shortlist ten profiles, split evenly between editorial and engineering disciplines, before inviting them to Dakar for a fortnight of workshops scheduled from 15 to 30 October.
Pedagogy: From Newsroom Simulation to Parisian Residency
During the Dakar workshops, participants will rotate through simulated live-news shifts, mobile-reporting expeditions in peri-urban districts and masterclasses on digital verification led by INA archivists. The methodology—blending practice and theory—has been refined since 2014 in consultation with the European Journalism Training Association. The two final laureates will travel to Paris in the first quarter of 2026 for an all-expenses-paid, four-week immersion inside RFI’s global newsroom at Issy-les-Moulineaux. Former laureate Victoire Andrène Ombi notes that “the residency demystified large-scale editorial coordination and expanded my continental contact list”, an endorsement that resonates with potential applicants seeking transnational exposure.
Symbolism of 2 November and the Issue of Impunity
Awarding the scholarship on 2 November is more than ceremonial scheduling. The United Nations has designated the date as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, linking the ceremony to a broader diplomatic agenda. France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, which regularly references the scholarship in statements to the Human Rights Council, argues that such initiatives complement multilateral efforts to protect media workers. While global impunity levels remain troubling—UNESCO records that only 14 percent of journalist killings since 2010 have led to convictions—programmes that equip reporters with safety protocols and ethical frameworks contribute tangibly to risk mitigation.
A Discreet Boost for Congo-Brazzaville’s Media Ambitions
Brazzaville’s newsroom community has followed the scholarship closely since Congolese reporter Victoire Andrène Ombi won in 2024, a triumph hailed by the national union of journalists as evidence of the country’s latent talent pool. Local editors note that alumni often return with refined investigative techniques and a reinforced commitment to factual balance, outcomes that support the government’s declared objective—articulated in its Communication Sector Modernisation Plan—to professionalise public information services. By refraining from prescribing editorial lines while insisting on international standards, the scholarship situates itself within Congo-Brazzaville’s incremental approach to media development, a stance that has attracted quiet commendation from regional diplomatic missions.
Professional Equipment Awards: A Secondary, Strategic Incentive
Beyond the main grants, the Association des Amis de Ghislaine Dupont et Claude Verlon pledges equipment packages for two additional finalists, a gesture that frequently proves transformative in economies where a single high-quality field recorder can cost several months’ salary. The material dimension reinforces the scholarship’s ethos of capacity building, ensuring that skills gained during the workshops are not lost to infrastructural deficits upon return.
Why the Scholarship Matters in 2025
As the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea regions navigate complex security and information challenges, the demand for accurate, context-rich storytelling grows accordingly. By investing in both journalistic and technical competencies, the Dupont-Verlon scholarship addresses a dual deficit identified by the African Union’s 2024 ‘Media Viability Index’: uneven professional training and limited access to modern equipment. The 2025 call, therefore, represents more than an academic competition; it is a calibrated intervention designed to fortify the structural independence of francophone African media at a moment of heightened geostrategic scrutiny.
