The Trade Law Centre (tralac) offers capacity building on trade and regional integration, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). tralac believes access to up-to-date information by journalists on the AfCFTA is essential to the success of the Agreement hence seeks to contribute to building a network of AfCFTA journalists across the continent. To this end, in 2019, tralac hosted a training course for trade journalists themed: ‘Reporting on the AfCFTA’ in Cape Town, South Africa. 

With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the tralac media training migrated online; a webinar on ‘Policy responses to Covid-19 and implications for the AfCFTA was held in July 2020.’ In July 2022, tralac hosted a four-part online training programme for trade journalists which provided updates on the AfCFTA’s implementation; relationship between AfCFTA and the RECs; Dispute settlement in the AfCFTA; as well as Digital trade in the AfCFTA. 

tralac is hosting an AfCFTA masterclass for a maximum of 15 select African trade journalists on 8 August 2022. The training will provide up-to-date information about the AfCFTA and practical support for reporting (across media channels) on the AfCFTA. 

Objectives

• Support trade journalists to develop their understanding of the AfCFTA Agreement including its Protocols, Annexes and Appendices.

• Support development of capacity to effectively source data and information for reporting AfCFTA stories.

• Share experiences to leverage digital and social media to produce and disseminate AfCFTA stories.

• To contribute to creating a network of African trade journalists with the capacity to provide accurate and up-to-date reporting about AfCFTA.

Methodology

The one-day masterclass will feature highly interactive virtual sessions on the AfCFTA Agreement and how to produce accurate, impactful and up-to-date stories about the Agreement. The sessions will cover the following:

• Overview of the AfCFTA Agreement including its Protocols, Annexes and Appendices.

• How to Report AfCFTA stories.

• Sourcing data and information for AfCFTA stories (Expert Interviews, AfCFTA Events, Press Releases, AfCFTA Documents, Social Media Data Mining).

• Sharing digital and social media for promoting/disseminating AfCFTA stories.

• Experience sharing: A practical session to sharing reporting experiences)

Eligibility Criteria for Applicants

• Must be a trade journalist with a proven strong track record of reporting about African trade and integration issues.

• Must have produced at least one impactful AfCFTA story in the last Six (6) months

• Must be committed to fully and actively participating in the virtual masterclass in August.

• Committed to reporting about the AfCFTA, beyond the masterclass

• Female trade journalists are strongly encouraged to apply

Outcomes

• Enhanced understanding of the AfCFTA Agreement including its Protocols, Annexes and Appendices.

• Enhanced capacity to leverage digital and social media to produce and disseminate AfCFTA stories.

• Contribution to support a corps of trade journalists committed to providing accurate and up-to-date reporting about the AfCFTA.

To apply:

Send a brief bio, and a sample of a recent AfCFTA story to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., by 29 July 2022