By Imran Malik | Media Industry Desk | MediaBites.com.pk
WAN-IFRA Women in News alumni from Zimbabwe Kenya Philippines Egypt and Jordan achieved major milestones in August 2026 spanning new leadership roles awards research honours and podcast launches.
WAN-IFRA never stops. While the news industry debates its future in conference rooms and editorial meetings, the world’s most committed international press organisation is quietly doing something more important — training, mentoring and elevating the women journalists who will shape what journalism becomes next.
The WAN-IFRA Women in News programme’s August 2026 alumni update is not a bulletin. It is a testament. Across five countries and four continents, women who passed through the WIN programme are leading newsrooms, winning awards, earning advanced degrees, launching podcasts, completing international courses and holding power accountable.
This is what investment in journalism looks like when it works.
Zimbabwe — Kim Sibanda Builds a Platform and a Movement
Kim Sibanda of Zimbabwe did not just advance her own career in August. She built infrastructure for other professionals.
Appointed as Breakfast Show Anchor at Power FM Zimbabwe and TV Host at ZBC, Sibanda simultaneously founded On The Mic Africa — an initiative helping professionals strengthen their communication, media and personal branding skills across the continent.
One WIN alumna. Two new broadcast roles. One pan-African initiative. That is what WAN-IFRA’s investment in women journalists produces.
Kenya — Claret Adhiambo Goes to India for Immersive Media
Claret Adhiambo of Kenya completed a two-week course in India on emerging trends in multimedia content creation and immersive technologies — bringing back skills in one of journalism’s fastest-moving technical frontiers to her newsroom and community.
Philippines — Two Alums Advance in Leadership and Legal Knowledge
Leia Margate was appointed Director of the Office of Public Affairs at the University of the Philippines Baguio — a role that brings together media and public relations while allowing her to directly apply lessons from the WIN programme.
Menzie Montes attended a workshop and seminar on legal tools for journalists sponsored by the Oxford Institute of Technology, gaining practical knowledge to support responsible, informed and ethical journalism.
Egypt — The Richest Month of Achievement
Egypt’s WIN alums produced the most diverse set of achievements in August — across presenting, research, investigative journalism and labour advocacy.
Yasmine Abdel Ghany completed the Radio and Television Presenter course offered by the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate.
Walaa Hussein was honoured by the Faculty of Mass Communication at Cairo University for her research on ethical and professional standards governing the use of influencers in pink marketing, presented at the Faculty’s 31st International Scientific Conference.
Engie Abdel Wahab received the prestigious Egyptian Journalism Award in the Investigative Reporting and Journalistic Interview category — one of Egypt’s most significant professional journalism honours.
Ghada Abdel Hafiz earned a Master’s degree in Management from the Faculty of Commerce, with a thesis examining the role of empowering leadership in supporting creative behaviour among newsroom staff in Egyptian newspapers.
Afaf Radwan began hosting a podcast for the Centre for Trade Union and Labour Services — exploring trade union and labour rights, raising awareness of Egyptian labour laws and advocating for their improvement.
Five Egyptian WIN alums. Five distinct achievements. In a single month.
Jordan — Best Investigation Award for Water Pollution Reporting
Dima Mahboubah, a journalist at Al-Ghad newspaper in Jordan, received the Best Investigation Award at the Hussein Creative Journalism Award for her investigation titled “Water Pollution in Irbid: A Creeping Enemy Threatening Health and Straining Household Budgets.”
This is accountability journalism at its most essential — a journalist from a WIN programme investigating a public health crisis affecting ordinary families and winning national recognition for doing so. It is precisely the kind of journalism that WAN-IFRA’s investment in women journalists is designed to enable.
WAN-IFRA’s Commitment — Never Stops, Never Sleeps
Whether it is suburbs of Africa, war-hit Gaza or a newsroom in Manila, WAN-IFRA does not pause. It trains. It mentors. It funds. It recognises. And then it steps back and watches what it has invested in grow into exactly what journalism needs.
The August 2026 WIN alumni update is proof that the investment works. From Zimbabwe to Jordan, from broadcast studios to university podiums, from podcast microphones to investigative bylines — these women are not just journalists. They are the future of the profession.
MediaBites.com.pk, as a proud WAN-IFRA member following these global journalism initiatives, congratulates every WIN alumna on their August achievements. You are making the entire journalism community proud.
— Imran Malik | Media Industry Desk | MediaBites.com.pk | Southera.com
Source: WAN-IFRA Women in News, WIN Alumni Update August 2026
MediaBites follows WAN-IFRA’s global journalism initiatives as part of its active WAN-IFRA membership.
