Harare Polytechnic Renews Landmark Media Education Pact with FOJO to Boost Journalism Standards

By Takudzwa Tondoya

Harare Polytechnic has renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sweden’s FOJO Media Institute in a strategic move aimed at enhancing journalism education and professional standards in Zimbabwe.

The signing ceremony, held in Harare on Wednesday reaffirmed both institutions’ commitment to equipping journalism students and faculty with cutting-edge skills in investigative reporting, climate change coverage and newsroom mentorship.

Harare Polytechnic Principal, Deborah T. Ruziwa, hailed the renewed collaboration as a continuation of a fruitful journey that has already delivered tangible results.

“When we first signed this MOU our goal was simple but ambitious: to uplift journalism education through collaboration, capacity building, and innovation. Today, we gather here not to start but to continue a journey that has already yielded tremendous results,” she said.

Over the past two years, the partnership has seen the implementation of high-impact workshops, including an investigative journalism program that convened 20 mid-career journalists and 14 lecturers from across Zimbabwe.

“The workshop strengthened professional standards and gave Zimbabwean journalism a timely boost in investigative depth and credibility,” Ruziwa added.

FOJO’s Sub-Saharan Africa Programme Manager, Jean Mujati said the latest phase of the partnership brings a suite of new academic initiatives under the Agile Program, including the Women Media Leaders of Tomorrow (WMLT) module.

“We’ve got three institutions who are attending, GZU, Harare Poly and NUST. At that meeting we’ll be having a co-design workshop on the sidelines for the climate change module. Then there’s a third module that will launch early next year—investigative journalism,” said Mujati.

She also explained the funding framework supporting the initiative, noting that the Agile program is backed by the European Union, while the Zimbabwe-focused programs are financed by Swedish SIDA.

“Under the Zimbabwe program, we are still working on finalization of seeing if there’s a new program that will start beyond this year. If there is, then we will have another run of the kind of interventions we’ve had these past two years,” Mujati said.

A key focus of the MOU renewal is a mentorship program aimed at empowering 20 or more young women journalism trainees from participating institutions.

“The objective of the mentorship is to provide support systems to the female trainee journalists so that at least they develop an interest in getting into the newsroom,” she added.

The partnership continues to position Harare Polytechnic as a central player in transforming journalism education and promoting media excellence in Zimbabwe.