FILE PHOTO: Koang Pal Chang, Eye Radio Station Manager during a Media Stakeholders Forum in Juba Nov. 21, 2023 - Credit: Juma Peter/AMDISS

The management of Eye Radio has announced plans to establish The Emmanuel Joseph Akile Fellowship in honour of the late Dawn Show presenter and journalist Emmanuel Joseph Akile.

The announcement was made on Saturday, January 10, 2025, during a memorial service held for Akile, who died aged 36 in Juba after a short illness.

Speaking at the event, Eye Radio Station Manager Koang Pal Chang said the fellowship will focus on training and mentoring journalists, with the aim of promoting professionalism, ethical reporting, and excellence in journalism; values that defined Akile’s career.

Koang said Eye Radio has been involved in training journalists for many years, adding that the new initiative will formalize these efforts into a structured fellowship program.

He said journalists enrolled in the program will undergo training for a period of two months.

He described the late Emmanuel Joseph Akile as a great man, teacher, and mediator who helped manage diverse opinions from listeners and encouraged constructive dialogue and understanding.

“Eye Radio has been training journalists but this time we said let’s call this media training wing ‘Emmanuel Joseph Akile Fellowship’ Journalists come and we train them for two months in the name of Emmanuel Joseph Akile,” he said.

“Akile was a teacher to many people because listeners have different opinion but Akile always tried to be a mediator and a peace maker.”

The fellowship is the second initiative established in Akile’s honour. It follows an earlier announcement by civil society leader Edmund Yakani on the creation of the Emmanuel Joseph Akile Annual Journalism Award.

The first edition of the award is scheduled to take place on December 30, 2026, marking the day the late veteran journalist died.