Our Pillars
The Africa Feature Network advances people-centered development through community action, policy engagement, and solution-driven storytelling. Our work connects grassroots initiatives with evidence-based reporting to address social, economic, and environmental challenges across Africa.
These 12 pillars guide the stories we choose, the issues we spotlight, and the impact we seek.
Governance and Accountability
The Africa Feature Network (The AFN) builds and runs community governance initiatives, including civic engagement projects, public oversight committees and transparency campaigns. We deliver workshops, train local leaders and facilitate citizen participation to strengthen accountable institutions. Where appropriate, The AFN funds and partners with civil society organisations implementing governance reforms. We document outcomes, lessons and reform pathways to influence policy and institutional practice.
Justice and Human Rights
We provide direct legal aid, survivor-centered services and community legal education. We run mobile legal clinics, support vulnerable populations and implement grassroots rights awareness campaigns. The AFN also partners with legal practitioners and organisations to address systemic human rights violations. We guide policy reform through advocacy while amplifying impact and informing public dialogue on justice and rights protection through solution journalism.
Economic Transformation and Innovation
The AFN runs hands-on skills-training workshops, hosts entrepreneurship bootcamps, and provides startup kits and seed funding to local innovators. We mentor small businesses directly, manage pilot projects in local markets, and establish community-based social enterprises that we operate and scale. Influence policies that create opportunities for growth is our priority, achieved through advocacy. Solution journalism documents what works, showcases local success stories and guides replication across communities.
Digital and Technological Advancement
The Africa Feature Network establishes digital hubs, equips communities with digital skills, and provides access to technology, enabling youth, farmers, and local entrepreneurs to develop
solutions, grow businesses, improve health services, and drive inclusive technological progress. Through advocacy and solution journalism, we promote responsible tech policies and share scalable digital innovations across Africa.
Climate and Environmental Sustainability
We build community green projects, implement recycling and waste management initiatives, and support climate-resilient farming. We construct eco-friendly water points, lead tree-planting campaigns, and train local groups in sustainable practices, enabling communities to protect their environment, strengthen livelihoods, and adapt to climate challenges. The AFN promotes climate-responsive policies and share scalable environmental innovations across Africa through both advocacy and solution journalism
Wildlife Conservation and Biodiversity
At The Africa Feature Network, we support community-led conservation programmes, implement habitat restoration projects, and advance animal rights protection initiatives. We train local conservation teams to monitor wildlife, collect data, and report threats, support livelihoods linked to biodiversity, and promote eco-tourism initiatives, enabling communities to safeguard wildlife, generate sustainable income, uphold ethical treatment of animals, and preserve natural habitats. Through advocacy and solution journalism, we reinforce conservation policies, promote animal welfare standards, and showcase scalable best practices across Africa.
Youth Leadership and Socio-Economic Empowerment
We run youth leadership training, skills development workshops, and enterprise incubation programmes. We also mentor young people, deliver hands-on workshops, and implement civic engagement projects, empowering them to lead initiatives, influence local decision-making, and create sustainable livelihoods. We also support youth-led social enterprises and community projects, ensuring practical application of skills. We promote youth policy inclusion through advocacy while amplifying youth voices, and document scalable youth-driven solutions across Africa through solution journalism
Women Empowerment and Social Equity
The AFN runs economic empowerment programmes, delivers skills training, and implements social protection initiatives. We establish community resource centres, safe homes for survivors of abuse, and support services addressing gender-based violence and mental health, while providing direct assistance to marginalized groups. We also conduct financial literacy and entrepreneurship workshops and facilitate community engagement platforms, enabling communities to lead projects, improve livelihoods, and access opportunities. Through advocacy and solution journalism, we promote inclusive policy reforms, amplify leadership, and document scalable solutions across Africa.
Public Health and Social Welfare
We organize medical camps and community health programmes in remote and underserved areas, bringing essential health services closer to vulnerable populations. We train and support community health workers (CHWs) and connect them through a digital network highway that links grassroots health workers to national systems, continental peers, and global health knowledge, strengthening coordination, referrals, and real-time learning. As part of programme expansion, we deploy mobile clinics in partnership with licensed health providers to extend outreach in hard-to-reach communities. We also deliver health education, mental health awareness initiatives, and social protection support, strengthening community resilience. We promote equitable health policies and document evidence to inform stronger public health systems across Africa through advocacy and solution journalism
Sports and Culture
The Africa Feature Network implements grassroots community sports programmes, strengthens school-based sports development, and supports cultural preservation initiatives, creating pathways for talent identification and social cohesion from the community level upward. We run local training camps, talent development clinics, and creative industry platforms, enabling young people and cultural practitioners to develop skills, access opportunities, and participate in sustainable creative economies. Through advocacy and solution journalism, we promote fair governance and increased investment in sports and culture, and document their social, cultural, and economic impact across Africa.
Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution
The AFN delivers community mediation programmes, reconciliation workshops, and structured dialogue initiatives that address local conflicts and strengthen social cohesion. We train grassroots peace actors, support inclusive conflict resolution processes, and implement community-led cohesion projects, particularly in fragile and post-conflict settings. The AFN also hosts annual peace seminars and a continental peace summit, convening community leaders, youth, policymakers, and practitioners to exchange knowledge, shape policy discourse, and scale effective peacebuilding models. Through advocacy and solution journalism, we amplify successful community-driven peace initiatives across Africa and promote sustainable peace policies through solution journalism and advocacy
Migration, Refugees and Stateless Communities
We support the establishment of safe shelters, coordinate food and essential supplies, and deliver livelihoods and skills-training programmes for displaced and refugee communities. We implement community farming initiatives, facilitate economic empowerment projects, and provide access to legal information and protection services within refugee settlements, working alongside local partners and authorities. Through advocacy and solution journalism, we advance rights-based migration policies, document durable solutions, and inform regional and national responses to displacement across Africa.
"Our Focus Areas Define Us"
Together, they shape our programmes, partnerships, and journalism, ensuring local solutions inform policy, strengthen institutions, and drive inclusive, sustainable change across the continent.