
An ambitious proposal to ensure justice for survivors of sexual abuse in Nigeria is the winner of the 2019 Commonwealth Digital Challenge, a competition designed to encourage innovation through media.
The winning entry, called the Sexual Violence Reporting Platform , was proposed by 23-year-old teacher, Patrick Obumselu, from Anambra State, Eastern Nigeria.
It aims to offer a secure, online space where those affected by sexual abuse can document crimes committed against them. Independent investigators - including journalists - will gather enough evidence to compel the police to act.
The Commonwealth Digital Challenge is supported by the Elizabeth R Media Fund and administered by the Thomson Foundation on behalf of Buckingham Palace. The Challenge is open to Commonwealth-based journalists, media managers and media entrepreneurs aged 18-30.
-- Play
-- --
This second year of the Challenge received entries from across the Commonwealth, but saw an all-Nigerian shortlist, confirming the country's reputation for creating young, tech-savvy media entrepreneurs.
Patrick was motivated by his own experience of being sexually abused as a child. His platform will create an identity-protected space for those affected by sexual violence.
It is a crime which, he says, goes largely unreported in Nigeria due to a lack of action from the authorities, fear of reprisals, or being blamed. He also wants to end the culture of silence around the issue of sexual violence, due to the victims' fears of being stigmatized or harmed by the abuser.
Patrick will visit the UK in early 2020 as guest of The Elizabeth R Media Fund to receive expert advice and training to enable him to implement a reporting platform which is a secure, user-friendly and robust enough to inspire the confidence of users and the legal profession.
We offer our congratulations to all of those shortlisted for the Commonwealth Digital Challenge 2019.
Buckingham Palace spokesperson
The two others on the shortlist were also commended by the judges. Olayinka Iyinolokan presented REACT Mobile News. It is an innovative attempt to use social media and mobile technology to counter fake news and engage young people in consuming up-to-date, factual news. Habib Oladapo entered Africana Migration Project - a news agency-based model aimed at countering the myths and misinformation surrounding African Migration. The Thomson Foundation has offered to advise both candidates to help both bring their ideas to fruition.
All three shortlisted candidates were offered mentoring sessions by three judges over the summer. The mentor/judges were Kate Adams, director of operations and special projects for Nesta Challenges [Nesta - the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts]; Sarah Drinkwater, director at the Tech and Society Solutions Lab at Omidyar Networks, and Arshia Gratiot, founder and CEO of Third Space Auto Ltd.
Nigel Baker, chief executive of the Thomson Foundation, said: All three finalists provide great examples of how media can be used as a force for good in society.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson commented: We offer our congratulations to all of those shortlisted for the Commonwealth Digital Challenge 2019 and thanks to the judges for their time and support.
The Elizabeth R Media Fund The Elizabeth R Media Fund (originally the Elizabeth R Broadcasting Fund) was established by Buckingham Palace from the royalties earned from Elizabeth R - the 1992 BBC documentary which marked the 40th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Its original purpose was to help Commonwealth broadcasters who received a donation from the Fund. It now works to encourage the development of digital platforms which promote civil society.
Related content
Commonwealth Digital Challenge: 2019 judging panel announced
New success for 2018 Commonwealth Digital Challenge winner
Commonwealth Digital Challenge 2019: Media Tech Accelerator
We get around. Explore our project map
More from Thomson
08/07/2025
In an era where digital threats to journalists are becoming increasingly aggressive and widespread, MediaSafe Africa launches as a vital online resource to help...
24/06/2025
Have you got what it takes to be Thomson's Young Journalist of the Year 2025? If youre a journalist aged 30 or under, this is your moment. Entries are now o...
03/06/2025
What does it take to push back against disinformation in a world of fragmented a...
16/05/2025
Across Central and Eastern Europe, journalism is no longer the default source of information. It competes and often loses against a chaotic content stream drive...
16/05/2025
Journalists working in investigative reporting across the Western Balkans and T rkiye are encouraged to enter their published work for the 2025 edition of the E...
12/05/2025
As newsrooms around the world begin to experiment with artificial intelligence, many are asking the same question: how do we move beyond isolated pilots and emb...
09/05/2025
At the Frontline Club in London, a venue long associated with media freedom and ...
01/05/2025
As Tanzania approaches a pivotal election year marked by both promise and concern over the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on media, more than 300 journa...
23/04/2025
In 2024, Thomson's Total Turnout project played a pivotal role in elevating ethical election reporting and strengthening journalist safety in Pakistan.
Wit...
16/04/2025
At a time when Sudanese women journalists face unprecedented challenges, She Speaks Sudan has provided a critical platform for training, mentorship, and collabo...
15/04/2025
As women in Afghanistan are stripped of their rights - banned from education, barred from public life and rendered invisible - a number of women journalists con...
14/04/2025
Rwanda's vulnerability to climate change is underscored by its ranking of 124th out of 182 countries in the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative's in...
19/03/2025
Applications are open for the second cycle of the Validation Booster programme, offering European media outlets, networks, and content creators the opportunity ...
07/03/2025
Increasing restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan is forcing women journalists take extraordinary risks to their own safety to tell their stories.
The ...
21/01/2025
Two senior war reporters from the BBC and Sky News have joined an outstanding array of experts in a unique series of training courses for journalists covering p...
16/01/2025
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Gary Mundy as Thomsons new Director of Research, Policy and Impact. Gary will join the organisation in March 2025,...
15/01/2025
The buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism reached a crescendo a...
08/01/2025
A landmark document examining key issues into how the media industry is grappling with the challenges of explaining how its using AI in its publications and bro...
30/12/2024
Leaving Thomson after 21 years, former Managing Director David Quin reflects on a career spent navigating the shifting sands of global media development. From r...
20/12/2024
Podcasting has become one of the most popular ways to tell stories and connect with audiences, but getting started can be intimidating, especially when it comes...
16/12/2024
Thomson's Executive Learning Series wrapped up its 2024 calendar with a landmark event in Prague. The AI in Media masterclass brought together 24 media lead...
13/12/2024
Reporting in secret under the oppressive shadow of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, ...
04/12/2024
Somaiyah Hafeez, one of this year's finalists for Thomson's Young Journalist of the Year Award, had a transformative visit to London. As the only finali...
26/11/2024
A woman journalist from Afghanistan has been named Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist of the Year 2024.
The journalist, who we are not naming for her ow...
13/11/2024
Award-winning journalists from the Western Balkans and T rkiye break new ground with impactful investigations on healthcare, environmental threats, human rights...
05/11/2024
Somaiyah Hafeez, a journalist and writer from Balochistan, Pakistan, stands out for her commitment to telling the stories of overlooked communities in her regio...
05/11/2024
Aisha Farrukh a multimedia journalist from Pakistan focuses on human interest stories and aims to create change through her storytelling. Twenty eight year old ...
05/11/2024
One of the three finalists for the Young Journalist of the Year 2024 is a woman journalist working in secret in Afghanistan because of the restrictions imposed ...
31/10/2024
Three journalists whose stories give a voice to people who are oppressed or marginalised have been chosen as the finalists for the 2024 Young Journalist of the ...
16/10/2024
We are pleased to announce that Federica Varalda has been appointed as Managing Director - Development for the Thomson Group. She will be leading project develo...
23/09/2024
Reporting from a female journalist who is working in secret due to Taliban restr...
30/07/2024
We caught up with Yara El Murr, winner of the Young Journalist Award 2023, to find out how her life has changed since scooping the main prize for her investigat...
23/07/2024
Brussels was the location of our third Thomson Talks with Madhav Chinnappa held on 25 June 2024, focused on the specific subject of AI/News & Regulation. Four k...
03/07/2024
AI's integration into journalism has sparked a mix of enthusiasm and scepticism across Central Europe, according to research led by Thomson Foundation in co...
01/07/2024
This was such a confidence boost and so much motivation to keep pushing forward in my work and public service journalism.
Yara El Murr from Lebanon recollecti...
21/06/2024
A new platform dedicated to helping journalists win audience trust and tackle disinformation has been launched and with it a competition offering newsrooms (fro...
30/05/2024
Navigating Strategy, Ethics, and Innovation in the evolving European media lands...
28/05/2024
This is a summary of the report commissioned by Thomson on AI Disinformation Attacks during Taiwans 2024 Presidential Elections, written by Professor Chen-ling ...
13/05/2024
Journalists from the Western Balkans and T rkiye can now submit their investigative stories published in 2023 for the EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2024...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
29/04/2024
A groundbreaking initiative offering training and mentoring to 30 women journali...
23/04/2024
Psychology can play an important role in helping us understand what audiences respond to (Dr Jon Roozenbeek, Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab)
For newsroo...
10/04/2024
A regulator, a technologist and a politician walking into a conference room - the beginning of a very geeky joke - or more accurately, the start of the second T...
09/04/2024
This is a summary of the report commissioned by Thomson on AI Disinformation Attacks during Taiwans 2024 Presidential Elections, written by Professor Chen-ling ...
04/04/2024
This fantastic course will help you understand and fight disinformation, an absolutely essential skill to acquire during this global election season. Sign up an...
02/04/2024
Thomson's work in captive, closed and repressive media landscapes has long been about making sure we get the best possible idea of what people really need f...
28/03/2024
Out of an estimated 20,000 journalists in Pakistan, less than one thousand are women according to a recent Gender Disparity Report published by the Internationa...
15/03/2024
To help empower Sudanese journalists living in exile amidst the ongoing conflict in their homeland, Thomson trainers have been delivering workshops designed to ...
01/03/2024
MoJo is something I want to pursue further and include, not as a last thought, but as a one of the components of my daily work. Michelle Banda Vodacom Young Jou...
23/01/2024
A chance to apply for the new learning programme specifically designed for media...