User:Chido onumah

Chido Onumah (10 April, 1966) is a Nigerian/Canadian journalist, author, blogger and rights activist. He has worked for over two decades as a journalist, rights activist and media trainer in Nigeria, Ghana, Canada, India, the USA, the Caribbean and Spain. He has been involved for more than a decade in media training for professional journalists as well as promoting media and information literacy in Africa.

Education
Onumah was educated at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, as well as the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, where he earned an MA in journalism.

He is currently a doctoral candidate in communication and journalism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain UAB.

Career
From 2002 to 2004, Onumah worked as Director of Africa programmes, Panos Institute, Washington, DC, U.S.A., helping journalists in West Africa, as well as the Caribbean, report in depth on issues that are frequently underreported or misreported — issues such as HIV/AIDS, environmental degradation, and ethnic and religious conflicts. Between 1996 and 2000, he was associate editor of Weekly Insight newspaper, and assistant editor of African Agenda magazine Third World Network, Africa, both in Accra, Ghana. He served as coordinator, West African Human Rights Committee, Accra, Ghana, and correspondent for African Observer magazine, New York, and AfricaNews Service, Nairobi, Kenya. In 2003, Onumah spent some time in Haiti and Dominican Republic where he worked with, and reported on, people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as on cross-cultural dialogue between African and Caribbean journalists. Between December 2001 and January 2002, Onumah was in New Delhi, India, on fellowship with the Indian Express newspaper, reporting on international issues. Between 2006 and 2007, he served as pioneer coordinator of the crime prevention unit (Fix Nigeria Initiative) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC in Nigeria, working on a civil society anti-corruption agenda for the country, and in partnership with the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism developed programmes on ethics and investigative reporting for Nigerian journalists. Between 2001 and 2002, Onumah volunteered for the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre, London, Ontario, Canada, working on integration and provision of information for refugees and new immigrants to Canada. Since 2005, he has been a volunteer for the World Computer Exchange WCE, Hull, Massachusetts, USA, seeking donations of used computers from corporations, universities, and non-profit organizations, and assisting in recruiting community organizations, universities, and secondary schools in Africa that benefit from the services of the WCE. His writings have appeared in major journals around the world.

Awards
• 2002: The Jerry Rogers Writing Award, University of Western Ontario, Canada • 2001: William C. Heine Fellowship for International Media Studies, University of Western Ontario, Canada • 2001: Alfred W. Hamilton Scholarship - [[Canadian Association of Black Journalists • 1999: Kudirat Initiative for Democracy KIND Award for excellence in journalism (Nigeria) • 1997: Clement Mwale Prize for courage in journalism, AFRICANEWS SERVICE (Kenya)]]

Publications
Onumah is the author of Nigeria is Negotiable (2013) and Time to Reclaim Nigeria (Essays 2001-2011) 2011. He has edited books on various subject, including Making Your Voice Heard: A Media Toolkit for Children & Youth (2004); Anti-Corruption Advocacy Handbook (with Comfort Idika-Ogunye) 2006; Youth Media: A Guide to Literacy and Social Change (with Lewis Asubiojo) 2008; Understanding Nigeria and the New Imperialism (with Biodun Jeyifo, Bene Madunagu, and Kayode Komolafe) 2006; and Sentenced in God’s Name: The Untold Story of Nigeria’s “Witch Children” (with Lewis Asubiojo) 2011; Media and Information Policy and Strategy Guidelines (with Grizzle, A., Moore, P., Dezuanni, M., Asthana, S., Wilson, C., and Banda, F.).

African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
Onumah is currently coordinator of the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy AFRICMIL, Abuja, Nigeria. AFRICMIL is a pan-African centre dedicated to media and information training, research, and advocacy. AFRICMIL was set up in 2008 following the resolution of the 1st Africa Media & Information Literacy Conference in July 2008 in Abuja, organised in conjunction with British Council, Nigeria, and the National Film & Video Censors Board NFVCB. AFRICMIL is a model reference point on media and information literacy on the continent. It seeks to respond to the increasingly sophisticated media and information needs of citizens in a democracy. It is dedicated to a new vision of media and information literacy that will provide Africans with the skills required for effective participation in development activities. With the support of organizations like UNESCO, UN Alliance of Civilizations UNAOC and other partners, AFRICMIL works with media and information literacy experts, teachers, and researchers, to engage students, youth, parents, civil society, and private and public institutions using a "hands on" approach to teaching media, information, and advocacy skills.

Pan-African Alliance for Media & Information Literacy (PAMIL)
Onumah is the interim chair of the Pan-African Alliance for Media & Information Literacy (PAMIL). The Pan-African Alliance on Media and Information Literacy (PAMIL) was agreed upon by African participants at the UNESCO/UNAOC Global Forum for Partnership on MIL GFPMIL conference in Abuja, Nigeria, June 26-29, 2013. As the name suggests, PAMIL is planned as an independent alliance among the different organizations and individuals that are working on Media and Information Literacy across the African continent. PAMIL was created to promote and strengthen partnership in Africa on MIL. It shall among other things: Be a clearing house for children, youths, teachers, researchers, parents, media and information literacy professionals and initiatives across Africa. PAMIL which currently operates a Provisional Secretariat will enable the African MIL community speak with one voice on diverse issues and build an effective Pan-African alliance that will have legitimacy to engage with political leaders and other CSOs on the continent.