IAWRT Kenya Empowers Women Journalists With AI Skills to Bridge Digital Divide
“There are many platforms out here that can elevate your work. You only need to be intentional and aggressive in using them,” Grace Kerongo, an editor at the Nation Media Group.
An African woman journalist in Kenya poses confidently in a modern newsroom, symbolizing the growing role of artificial intelligence and digital skills in empowering women to lead Africa’s media transformation. Photo by HubzMedia AI | IAWRT Kenya
By Naomi Cheruiyot
The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) Kenya has stepped up efforts to bridge the digital divide in the country’s media landscape by training women journalists on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital tools. The initiative, supported by AI experts in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Google News Initiative, marks a significant milestone in preparing female media professionals for the fast-evolving digital era.
Held in December as the fifth and final series of the 2025 digital training program, the session brought together about 40 women journalists from both mainstream and community media organizations across Kenya. The program aims to equip female storytellers with practical digital skills, enhance newsroom efficiency, and empower women to take bold steps in adopting new technologies.
The one-day training featured seasoned journalists and facilitators Lucy Kilalo and Grace Kerongo, who guided participants through in-depth sessions on AI engineering, digital content optimization, and responsible AI application in journalism.
Speaking during the training, Grace Kerongo, an editor at the Nation Media Group, encouraged female journalists to maximize the potential of digital platforms such as LinkedIn and WhatsApp for professional growth, visibility, and monetization of skills. She underscored that the digital media space is expanding rapidly, offering opportunities beyond conventional newsroom roles.
“There are many platforms out here that can elevate your work. You only need to be intentional and aggressive in using them,” she said. “During my time working in the tech department at Nation Media Group, I learned how to track audiences across various digital handles, and that shifted how I approach stories and distribution.”
Kerongo challenged journalists to embrace technical competencies, noting that building digital confidence can open doors to better-paying opportunities, collaborations, and new career paths in data journalism, content development, and multimedia production.
On her part, Lucy Kilalo focused her session on how to generate effective AI prompts to produce accurate, meaningful and ethical results. She demonstrated how AI tools can support newsroom tasks such as research, transcription, story ideation and data interpretation. Kilalo emphasized that women of all ages — young, mid-career, and senior — can thrive in the digital space when given equal access to technology and training.
Participants expressed gratitude for the opportunity, acknowledging that AI is increasingly becoming essential in modern newsrooms where speed, accuracy and digital research shape competitive storytelling.
Many attendees noted that before the training, they viewed AI as complex or intimidating, but now feel confident to integrate it into daily assignments — from crafting story leads to verifying information and engaging audiences across social platforms.
The IAWRT Kenya AI program continues to champion digital inclusion and gender representation in technology-driven media spaces. By empowering women journalists with 21st-century skills, the organization hopes to reduce structural barriers while nurturing a new generation of tech-savvy female reporters, producers and editors.
As the curtain falls on the 2025 series, organizers reaffirmed their commitment to expand similar programs in the coming year, ensuring that no woman journalist is left behind in the global digital transformation.
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