January at Dataphyte
As 2025 begins, Dataphyte remains focused on driving conversations, sharing knowledge, and strengthening collaborations in media, data, and civic engagement. January featured important discussions, hands-on training, and new partnerships. Here’s what we accomplished:
Decoding the Alliance of Sahel States’ Exit from ECOWAS
We started the year with a webinar titled The Alliance of Sahel States’ Exit from ECOWAS Today: Hard Facts and Hopes for the Future. Over 60 participants joined expert speakers to examine this major shift’s economic, geopolitical, and security effects.
Empowering Media and Data Enthusiasts with AI
Dataphyte Academy commenced the year’s activities with a hands-on workshop introducing media professionals and data enthusiasts to AI tools developed by Dataphyte (including Goloka and Nubia) and other civic organisations. The goal of the training was to equip participants with practical tools to improve their daily work processes.
As a leader in data education, Dataphyte Academy offers a range of courses for everyone from beginners to seasoned professionals. The “Data Story Lab” training, which began in December 2024, attracted over 64 participants, all learning how to apply essential tools to enhance their data-driven media and civic work.
In December, the training centered around investigative and analytical reports authored by prominent journalists, with a strong emphasis on data-driven approaches with was attended by more than 55 participants. Additionally, the Academy certified 13 individuals who completed a two-month course in Data Management and Analytics.
In the coming months, the Academy plans to launch more projects designed to meet the needs of the digital age, fostering increased engagement with students, data science communities, and data professionals.
Visit Dataphyte Academy website
Insights from Tsinghua University Delegation
On January 17, 2025, we hosted a delegation from Tsinghua University. The group, consisting of four students and one professor, engaged in discussions on foreign influence in Nigeria, with a focus on China’s role.
Mr. Olufemi led the session by presenting key insights from the Foreign Influence Index, highlighting China’s multifaceted influence on Nigeria in areas like economic cooperation, cultural exchange, and diplomacy.
The discussion contextualised China’s significant impact on Nigeria, surpassing traditional influences such as the UK in certain sectors. While China leads in infrastructural investments, cultural exchanges, and diplomatic alignments, the Index also explores the qualitative dimensions of influence—evaluating how these relationships promote or hinder democratic norms and socioeconomic development.
Listen to our Foreign Influence Podcast
External Engagement: Advancing Open Governance through Technology and Innovation
As Nigeria’s Open Government Partnership(OGP) National Action Plan (NAP III) 2023 -2025 came to a close, Dataphyte took part in the Valedictory OGP Nigeria Thematic Working Group Quarterly Meeting on January 28th and 29th, 2025. This meeting marked the final gathering of state and non-state actors for the National Action Plan III implementation year, – a biannual action plan co-created by the National Steering Committee and Civil Society Organisations to strengthen and mainstream transparency methods, as well as citizen participation in the administration of public resources across all sectors in Nigeria. At the meeting, the group presented the status report on the OGP implementation of NAP III and the draft report on the assessment of the Citizen and non-state actors’ engagement in implementing the OGP NAP III.
