After many years of behind-the-scenes work, InfoCongo, a new GeoJournalism website from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) that combines interactive maps, visualized data on natural resource issues and traditional journalism stories, is being launched at a ceremony in Kinshasa.

A day after the launching ceremony, EJN specialists with support from development organizations working on similar topics in the Congo Basin such as the Central African Program on the Environment (CARPE) and The Observatoire Satellital des Forets d'Afrique Centrale (OSFAC) will organize a half-day capacity-building workshop on “Data journalism: Emerging Practices to Tell Impactful Environmental Stories.” Twelve local reporters with expertise in environment reporting from major media organizations have been selected to participate in the training.

“InfoCongo represents a new opportunity to better understand the changes that this important region is undergoing,” says David Akana, the site’s managing editor. “We are aiming for it to become a vibrant platform for the exchange of information about sustainable development between journalists, scientists, policy makers and the public at large.”

As the second largest rain forest in the world after the Amazon, the Congo Basin faces a myriad of challenges ranging from deforestation, illegal logging and wildlife trafficking to climate change. InfoCongo is designed to raise awareness and improve public understanding on these issues. In addition to bringing a new approach to collecting, analyzing and disseminating environmental data coming out of the Congo Basin, the site’s approach of using networked journalism is able to syndicate content into a single space and provide greater visibility to stories from local media and development organizations.

InfoCongo is part of a series of interactive web platforms initiated by EJN to strengthen environmental reporting around the world. Combining visually compelling maps, data, and stories from local reporters, InfoCongo intends to spotlight emerging challenges facing the Congo Basin.

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