WABJ Founder Hannah Ajala brought greater awareness to the organisation and forged links with journalists from around the world by attending the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy at the end of April 2023.
Over five days from 19 April to 23 April, journalists from across the globe gathered to hear talks and discussions from nearly 540 speakers who work in different specialisms. Hannah was one of those speakers and described the festival as “a way to connect journalists from all backgrounds, all walks of life, all specialities.” She added “This really excellent festival is where you can pretty much learn from journalists around the world.”
Hannah said that festival gave her the “absolutely phenomenal” opportunity to meet and interact with journalists from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and the UK.
“History was made because I was on the first all Black panel at Perugia. I know we need to not really celebrate firsts etc. But it was still an incredible thing to be a part of.”
She said that at the International Journalism Festival diversity and inclusion were not just buzzwords and were actually taken seriously, and has high hopes for the future festivals and the future of journalism.
“I hope to see diversity and inclusion be normalised as it was in this case. And I hope that there is more togetherness, especially in the industry of genders and to reflect society as much as possible.”
The 2024 edition of the International Journalism Festival will take place from 17th-21st April. It is free to attend. Find out more about the festival here.
