By Global Integrity — August 21, 2014. 

Ntibinyane Ntibinyane is an experienced investigative reporter in Botswana and the winner of a scholarship Global Integrity offered for one African journalist to participate in the international conference Holding Power to Account: Investigative Journalism, Democracy and Human Rights, last June in Canada. Here he shares his experience in the conference.

“The conference was an opportunity for me to learn from some of the best investigative reporters in the world and also to share my experience with the rest of the world.

I attended several sessions where I learned how investigative reporters in North America, Europe and Asia work on investigative stories in their respective countries. I also had an opportunity to meet one on one with journalists and journalism professors to network, explore opportunities and share ideas. I also had an opportunity to have a one on one chat with Carl Bernstein about the Watergate Scandal. He was easily approachable, gracious and willing to learn more about the state of journalism in Botswana.

On the last day of the conference, I was one of the speakers at a session that addressed challenges faced by Asian and African investigative reporters (my presentation can be downloaded here). The session was well attended and many expressed appreciation for the work that I am doing in Botswana. In addition, I did a television and radio interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on the importance of investigative journalism in Africa. The Holding Power to Account conference was the best investigative journalism conference I have ever attended.”