Chude Jideonwo the founder of the Fourthmainland Fund and host of the viral show #WithChude, delivered a compelling presentation on the importance of intentional storytelling at the Solutions Journalism Africa Summit, a landmark gathering of journalists, editors, creators, and media innovators held in Abuja from November 14–15, 2025. His talk, titled “How We Tell Stories Matter: The Cost of Africa’s Framing,” urged media practitioners to deepen their connection with audiences, embrace independence, and tell stories grounded in relevance and truth.
Jideonwo began his session by reminding attendees that journalism cannot truly serve the public if it fails to understand the people it represents. He emphasised that storytellers must engage with audiences as real communities with lived experiences, not faceless abstractions, and framed trust as something “earned through relevance” in the stories we choose to share. He also challenged the room to consider how external funding and narrative framing influence not only what gets told, but how it shapes public perception, a message that struck at the heart of the summit’s mission to explore evidence-based and people-centred reporting.
Responding to participant questions, Jideonwo shared reflections on sustainable funding models, stressing that journalists should use early support to build resilient platforms capable of telling honest stories without compromise. He highlighted the role of organisations like the Fourthmainland Creator Fund in empowering a new generation of African storytellers, and he offered practical insight on drawing emotion and empathy into narratives, born out of his own journey and commitment to storytelling with purpose. His session underlined a broader theme of the summit: the indispensable role of integrity, independence, and intention in journalism that aims not only to inform but also to shift narratives and drive social change.
READ ARTICLE: https://medium.com/@shadesofusafrica/chude-jideonwos-shares-storytelling-insights-at-the-sojo-africa-summit-926be5a2d1f7
