After the War, Liberian Women Fight for a New Future MONROVIA, Liberia—As a feminist and reporter based in West Africa, I was drawn to Liberia by the promise of women, who played a significant role in rebuilding a nation left shattered by 14 years of civil war. The international face of the West African country…
NN’s Tecee Boley Wins Prestigious Scholarship to South African University
New Narratives is immensely proud that our fellow and Senior Reporter for Front Page Africa Tecee Boley has won the 2014 Konrad-Adnauer-Stiftung scholarship to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Tecee was one of three journalists chosen from across Africa for the prestigious program. Tecee was one of the first reporters to…
NN’s Mae Azango’s Brave Reporting Features on Chime for Change
When Mae Azango wrote her cover story on the health effects of female genital cutting in Liberia’s major newspaper, FrontPage Africa on International Women’s Day in March 2012 she had little idea of the firestorm she would ignite. Within days Mae and her 9-year-old daughter were in hiding – the targets of death threats from…
A Bruising Battle and Important Win for African News Media by NN’s Rodney Sieh of FrontPage Africa
For the first time in Liberia a news outlet has built up enough credibility and trust that Liberians were willing to rise up to defend it. Perhaps I’ll be able to laugh one day when I look back at my time in a Liberian jail cell these last few months. In some ways it was…
NN’s Robtel Pailey on High Level Panel at Ibrahim Forum
NN’s Robtel Pailey joined a panel on Safety & Rule of Law with some of Africa’s heavyweights, as part of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation annual Forum, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Panelists included: Dr. Salid Ahmed Salim, former chair of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU); Trevor Manuel, minister in the South African cabinet; Jean Ping,…
NN’s Robtel Pailey launches “Gbagba” in London, moderated by NN head Prue Clarke
Please join us as NN opinion writer Robtel Pailey launches her children’s book “Gbagba” (with illustrations by NN’s Chase Walker) at the School of Oriental and African studies in London tonight. The event will be moderated by NN Executive Director Prue Clarke. Date: 9 December 2013Time: 5:30 PM Finishes: 9 December 2013Time: 7:00 PM Venue: Russell Square: College BuildingsRoom: 4429 Type…
Child Labor Thrives in Liberia
In 2007, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf introduced a policy mandating that all primary school-age children go to school. Parents risk fines or even being jailed if their children work on the street instead of attending school. Nearly four years later, the streets of the capital, Monrovia, are still crowded with young school-age children who work…
NN Executive Director Shortlisted for Australian Social Innovation Award
New Narratives is delighted our Co-founder and Executive Director Prue Clarke has been shortlisted for the Advance Global Australian Social Innovation award recognizing her work with us. The Awards celebrate Australians and alumni from Australian universities living overseas who exhibit remarkable talent, exceptional vision and ambition. Prue was born in Australia and started her journalism…
Teen Pregnancy and Bush Schools Hurting Efforts to Educate Girls
Cestos City – Hannah Toe is in the twelfth grade class at Cestos High School in rural Rivercess County. She looks youthful with cornrows and a red flower headband in her hair matching her ruffled top, but she is 24 years old and already a mother, with a five-year-old son named Tony. Part 3 of…
Liberia Schools Crisis: Unfit Buildings and No Books Leave Children Behind
Cestos City – Twelve-year-old Baby Girl Yarkah is in the first grade and attends the Upper Timbo Community School in Little Liberia, Rivercess County. She shares a small chair with another girl because there are not enough seats to accommodate the school’s 200 students. The chairs have no arms. There are no desks at all….
Liberia Education Crisis: A 3-part series reveals schools in chaos
Cestos City – Students in Rivercess County are learning less than half of the curriculum each semester because of untrained teachers and a broken pay system that forces teachers to abandon schools for days, even weeks at a time. The first of a 3-part series on Liberia’s rural schools crisis by New Narratives fellow Mae…
FreeRodney.org Site Launched with Petition Demanding Editor’s Release
Supporters of FrontPage Africa editor-in-chief Rodney Sieh have launched a website demanding his immediate release. Please find a petition on the site. FrontPage Africa is New Narratives’ major partner in Liberia and has worked with us on a range of important stories that have forced action in Liberia and garnered attention around the world. Sieh…
Jailed for Journalism: FrontPage Africa Editor in The New York Times
MONROVIA, Liberia — IT’S not uncommon in African countries like Zimbabwe and Ethiopia for newspapers to be shut, and their editors jailed. But the newspaper I edit doesn’t operate in a dictatorship. We are in Liberia, the West’s poster child for postwar democracy building. Our president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is a Nobel laureate who is celebrated by…
NN’s Robtel Pailey named to Top 99 Foreign Policy Professionals Under 33
WASHINGTON, DC: The Diplomatic Courier and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy are pleased to announce that Robtel Pailey, Opinion Columnist with New Narratives, has been recognized on the 2013 “99 Under 33,” an international list noting the most influential foreign policy leaders under the age of 33. The complete list is available at: www.diplomaticourier.com/99Under33. See…
NN’s Wade Williams Wins German Development Prize for Africa
NN is very proud of fellow and FrontPage Africa Newsroom Chief Wade William who capped a brilliant year last night by winning the German Media Development Prize for Africa at a ceremony in Berlin – on her birthday! The win follows Wade’s success in winning a prestigious Dag Hammarskjold fellowship to the UN last year…
In Liberia, silencing press critics through libel lawsuits
From NN executive: We are reposting this article from July 2011 in light of the Liberian Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold the $1.5m libel verdict against FrontPage Africa. During Liberia’s 14-year civil war, the press was silenced through violence. Journalists now say they are the victims of a more subtle assault. They say a…
NN’s Rodney Sieh Spells Out the No Bribe Policy at FrontPage Africa Newspaper
Paying Off – The problem of bribes in the Liberian press After two civil wars, Liberian journalists are enjoying unprecedented freedoms but struggling to maintain independence. The business of news is not yet financially viable there: the media market is oversaturated, advertising is weak, and readership is low with a low-hanging ceiling—only 58 percent of the…
NN’s Mae Azango profiled by Internews for UNESCO World Press Freedom Forum in Costa Rica
A Fierce Champion for Women Braves Death Threats and Job Loss She has a broad smile and open, friendly face. But Liberian journalist Mae Azango has the fierce and courageous heart of a warrior. Although she has received death threats and lost her job over her discussion of sensitive topics, she remains a staunch advocate…
Breastfeeding Myths: Liberia in Top 5 for Baby Deaths, ‘Difficult Problems’ linger
Forkpah Town, Clay Ashland, Tiny Pewee Wamah tries to hold the piece of boiled cassava his mother hands to him, but his tiny trembling hands soon let go and the cassava falls to the bright red earth. The 14-month-old baby tries to find strength to cry but his voice soon fades. By New Narratives fellow…
NN’s Robtel Pailey makes The New York Times with her piece on Children’s Role in Changing a Culture of Corruption
MONROVIA, Liberia — I remember the first time I stared corruption in the face. It was 2010, and I was chairwoman of a Liberian government committee responsible for reforming the awarding of international scholarships. We discovered that a group of 18-year-old boys had forged their national exam records to become eligible for a scholarship to…
NN’s Wade Williams Wins Journalist of the Year
New Narratives fellow and FrontPage Africa newsroom chief Wade Williams has been awarded the prestigious Journalist of the Year award at Liberia’s annual media awards. Wade is only the second woman to win the award. The UN’s Eva Flomo won the award in 2011. Wade has been with the New Narratives program since January 2011….