The Impact Storytelling for Development Initiative, ISDI, has launched its Future-Ready Communicators Bootcamp 1.0, with 25 communicators selected from 227 applicants for the inaugural two-day programme.
The bootcamp, held from August 8 to 9, 2026, also marked the launch of the ISDI Academy, an initiative designed to equip communicators with modern skills for effective development reporting and storytelling.
Speaking at the launch, the Founder and Executive Director of ISDI, Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah, said the programme was designed to explore innovative approaches to development communication that can inspire action, influence policy, strengthen institutions and improve lives.
Isah said the rapidly changing communication landscape, driven by artificial intelligence and digital platforms, requires communicators who are ethical, innovative, skilled and committed to the public good.
He explained that the 25 participants were selected from 227 applications based not only on their qualifications, but also on their potential to become ambassadors of better communication within their organisations and communities.
The ISDI founder urged the participants to use the training to ask questions, challenge ideas, build professional relationships and learn from one another.
He said the programme covered development storytelling, artificial intelligence for communicators, visual communication, mobile photography and videography, communicating for impact, purpose, creativity and leadership.
Isah challenged participants to go beyond merely telling stories by examining why stories matter, whose voices they represent, the evidence supporting them and the change they can inspire.
The founder noted that the bootcamp was more than a two-day training programme, saying it marked the beginning of an academy committed to developing a new generation of communicators capable of informing responsibly, embracing innovation and contributing to sustainable development.
He described the cohort as pioneers whose journey would lay the foundation for an academy that could train hundreds or even thousands of communicators across Africa in the years ahead.
The founder expressed appreciation to the facilitators, partners and supporters for contributing to the successful launch of the initiative.
Paradigm News reports that, the Future-Ready Communicators Bootcamp is part of ISDI’s broader effort to strengthen professional communication skills and promote more impactful development storytelling.