Fredrick Mugira

Fredrick is an award-winning conservation journalist who reports stories about water, wildlife, and climate change. As a journalist and National Geographic Explorer, he has traveled around the world, including Africa, Europe, Asia, the USA, and South America, to report on conservation topics. He also trains others about these topics. He founded Water Journalists Africa (WJA), a non-profit media development organisation with membership of over 3000 journalists spanning 50 African countries.

WJA fosters in-depth reporting on critical environmental issues, including water, climate change, and wildlife. Its flagship project, InfoNile, is a pioneering geojournalism initiative that facilitates cross-border collaborations, offers environmental and data reporting training for journalists, and champions investigative storytelling within the Nile basin. WJA also operates Nilewell, a platform designed to connect environmental researchers, scientists, and journalists. It also runs Apes Reporting Project which brings together journalists from 21 African countries to promote the conservation of apes through journalism.

In 2022, he participated in the Bertha Challenge Fellowship and investigated the effects of plastic pollution on water bodies with a focus on western Rift Valley lakes in Uganda and the DR Congo, which are connected to the Nile River.

Fredrick is a 2023 award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, which honor exceptional science communicators, journalists, and research scientists who have developed creative, original work to communicate issues and advances in science, engineering, or medicine for the general public. He is also a CNN/Multichoice African Journalist award winner and recipient of the Fetisov Journalism Award for outstanding investigative reporting. He often serves as a visiting journalist with the Pulitzer Center, connecting with faculty and students at various colleges in the U.S. and the Middle East to share his knowledge and inspire future journalists and communicators.

Currently an Editor with Uganda's leading multimedia house, Vision Group, Fredrick Mugira continues to be a driving force in water journalism. Beyond his journalistic endeavours, Fredrick also serves as a Blue Ambassador for the world's Blue Community, which focuses on how the commodification and privatisation of water can lead to inequalities, making it harder for some communities to access this essential resource. Fredrick is a fan of cosmology. He is a member of the Interstellar Foundation, a US-based organisation committed to crafting and dispatching human-made artifacts beyond Earth.

Fredrick holds a Master’s Degree in Communication for Development.