Journalists wanted from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Zimbabwe

Come to Moshi, Tanzania within sight of Mount Kilimanjaro. Receive excellent training from experienced trainers. Cover an inspiring youth sports development tournament. Make friends and tell the world about it.

The East Africa Cup is about a week in Moshi, and a year in the community. It’s for organisations who use sport in a positive way in East Africa, and for young people involved it’s an opportunity to get involved in an excellent sport, cultural exchange and education event.

Before a ball is kicked, young people attend workshops in topics like health, conflict resolution and leadership skills. Their leaders benefit not just from co-hosting the event, but also from the opportunities associated with being amongst some of the best referees, youth leaders and physios in the region.

It’s not just a sports story, so we don’t just want sports journalists: the practical training will cover interview skills, social media for journalists, getting a story from a press conference, and how to cover sports for development.

We are specifically looking for people who are first and foremost community reporters - in fact we are looking for people who don't normally cover sport*.

Accommodation and food is provided as is transport: although you’ll be travelling on the team coach, not flying. After the tournament you’ll get the chance to be mentored online by the team: it's not just about a week, it's about a year

If you are interested, please get in touch – email eastafricacup@me.com and explain why you want to get involved, including a CV, and links to your work. You can be a print, online or broadcast journalist, although you will be asked to work outside your comfort zone.

Training starts in the last week of June (exact dates TBC), so you'll need to travel in advance of that - departure dates will be based on where you are travelling from. You'll need clearance from your manager, although you will be expected to continue to file copy throughout the event. Any questions please comment below.

Background

The East Africa Cup is an event for teams who use sport in their community throughout the year. Its aim is to 'empower youth through sports'.
 In practical terms this means that the EAC is more than football – in fact nobody kicks a ball until they have attended a morning workshop. These include topics like HIV and AIDS awareness, coaching, first aid/sports injuries leadership and networking skills and conflict resolution.

* of course if any of our former journalism trainee friends are interested in turning up again, we wouldn't want to turn them away. I would, however, expect them to deliver a workshop session rather than attending as a just a trainee! They will become training volunteers themselves and help out journalists who are new to the event, with the support of existing trainers.