The third edition of the NXT Podcast Bootcamp and fellowship will be held from 21 to 25 July in Windhoek. It aims to equip young media professionals with the skills of ethical and effective storytelling through podcasting.
Organised annually by the NMT Media Foundation, the programme is part of the NXT Journalism Hub, a centre of excellence for developing new media talent in southern Africa.
With the 2025 theme of ‘Voices for Impact: Ethical Journalism for a New Generation,’ the bootcamp promotes ethical journalism by requiring applicants to conform to accepted ethical standards, including the Editors’ Forum of Namibia’s code of ethics and the Ethical Journalism Network’s principles.
“Our mission is founded on social justice,” says Shelleygan Petersen from NMT.
She adds that through podcasting, they want to amplify voices to advance human rights, freedom of expression, and access to information.
The bootcamp addresses a pressing need in the community: media outlets’ transformation into quickly shifting digital platforms and content models.
“It supports established podcasters as well as beginners in hands-on instruction, technical guidance, and professional counsel,” says Petersen.
She says students will learn about podcast production, building an audience, and monetisation strategies.
Since its inception, the programme has evolved into an influential platform.
Former fellows have been rewarded with major accolades.
Nelago Johannes, for example, received the Newsroom Challenge award for her podcast discussing issues among young people in Africa.
Another alumna, Selma Iyambo, created the Sex Talk Podcast while in the fellowship, afterwards winning US$20 000 worth of seed funding and gaining international recognition.
Submissions for the 2025 season are due on 20 June at 23h59 GMT. Prospective podcasters from across Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are encouraged to apply via forms.gle/bfmaJzMjayfeVX.
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