MFJI: three internships, one common goal

Emmanuel Dulac Houssou (Benin) 

What impressed you most about the internship, also compared to previous experiences? 

What impressed me most was the trust that was placed in me from the very beginning. I was trusted with a lot of personal responsibility – but of course quality and care were in the foreground.  

In Bonn and Berlin, I became familiar with a multicultural working environment in the coordination office of the Hannah Arendt Initiative, a worldwide program for the protection of journalists. I really enjoyed working with the four partner organizations. I now have a better understanding of the challenges faced by media professionals around the world, as well as international support mechanisms.

What skills and working methods have you acquired and learned about – and how can you use them in the future? 

During this summer internship, I acquired new skills in the field of digital journalism and institutional communication. I published multimedia content on WordPress, learned audio editing, wrote texts in English and was involved in the preparation of a session at the Global Media Forum.

I also learned more about teamwork, project management and communication with journalists in dangerous situations. All of this experience will be of great value for my journalistic career, especially in international newsrooms where versatile skills are indispensable. 

Did this internship influence your future plans? 

It has strengthened my ambitions! My wish is to continue to work in an international environment in which the defense of press freedom and the support of journalists is paramount. In addition, the internship allowed me to improve my skills in multimedia reporting and fact-checking, as well as my English. I can imagine a career that combines journalism, institutional communication and the coordination of international media projects. 

Yasmina Ouili (Burkina Faso)

What impressed you most about the internship, also compared to previous experiences? 

From my internship in DW's French for Africa newsroom, I remember above all the care with which the news reports are created.  I was also impressed by the editorial team’s team spirit and the constructive feedback. I experienced a multicultural, open and benevolent team. 

What skills and working methods have you acquired and learned about – and how can you use them in the future? 

I learned how an international newsroom works and how to produce stories for radio and the Internet. During my internship, I produced contributions to DW's Global Media Forum and gained a lot of practical experience. I was also able to deal with topics such as human rights, justice and women's rights.  

In the newsroom, the topics are treated with great care: the quality of the information and perspective on a topic are in the foreground. There are fixed steps that ensure quality. I will be able to continue to use these methods when I produce journalistic content for different formats. 

Did this internship influence your future plans? 

I now have the tools to report effectively and professionally. This will certainly help me in my future career and in future media projects! 

Pape Malick Thiam (Senegal) 

What impressed you most about the internship, also compared to previous experiences? 

What particularly impressed me about my internship in DW's fact-checking team was the way of working. I learned to work with colleagues in an international newsroom with different backgrounds and cultures – partly in my home office and in constant exchange with other teams.  

I also worked in English, which is my third language. That was a challenge, but also a very enriching experience. I gained self-confidence as a result. 

Fact-checking itself was a completely new field for me. I got to know a journalistic writing style that was new to me. Unlike the video formats I've produced so far, fact-checking articles follows a strict methodology with a focus on solid evidence and very structured reasoning. I remember that! 

What skills and working methods have you acquired and learned about – and how can you use them in the future? 

I learned a lot of new things about research and checking information. I've learned to get to the bottom of claims, trace the origin of an image or video, recognize visual cues and use digital tools that can help with verification.  

These methods will be very useful to me on my professional path. Today, fake news spreads faster and faster, and in very diverse forms. The fact that I have mastered these techniques now will enable me to do well-founded research and better inform the public. 

Did this internship influence your future plans? 

Yes! The internship strengthened my interest in investigative journalism and detailed research. I've come to realize that fact-checking isn't just about verifying something: it's a real investigative process that requires patience, diligence and critical thinking. 

I now have the desire to deepen these methods in future projects. Whether it's investigative journalism or any other field, I want to integrate this 'fact-checking culture' into my work to create fact-based, reliable reports.