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How do you do fact-checking before sharing the next viral social media post? How do you ethically produce credible non-fiction content for your social media accounts? Are you interested in becoming a journalist influencer?

Organised by the Malaysiakini Foundation,  UNESCO, and supported by the High Commission of Australia, Kuala Lumpur, the Youth Journalism Programme aims to empower young individuals with better media literacy. 

Part 1: Young Creator Online Training

15 June 2025 and 29 June 2025

The first part of the programme is an online training focusing on enhancing media and digital literacy among young audiences. The programme is open to young adults aged 18 to 25 interested in content creation or those ready to launch a career in journalism. To apply, each participant must submit a short answer of 120 words on why they want to join the programme. All applicants will be given a free three-month Malaysiakini subscription package as a token of appreciation. Based on the submission, the best 30 participants will be selected for the training quiz and training. The two-day training series will feature interactive lectures covering media literacy, personal data protection, data journalism, multimedia story-telling, critical thinking, and analysis. Quizzes and virtual assignments will allow trainees to compete for qualification into the next phase, the Young Creator Fellowship. 

All trainees will be asked to produce and publish a video during the online training and be voted for a ‘People’s Choice Award’ by the public. The selection of this award will not affect judges’ decisions on trainees’ qualification for the Young Creator Fellowship. All trainees will receive a certificate upon completion of the training.

Part 2: Young Creator Fellowship

16 to 18 July 2025

Following the online training, ten participants will be selected for the three-day Young Creator Fellowship in Kuala Lumpur in July. They will produce a short video of about three minutes under the guidance of a mentor between 1 July to 15 July, and compete for a total of RM 17,000 worth of prizes. From 16 to 18 July, they will be given hands-on training about visual journalism, and tours of several newsrooms. On the final day of their fellowship,  a show-and-tell session at 8 pm will be held at Monash University, where judges will decide the top winners. The organisers will cover the fellows’ accommodation and transportation costs.

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Aidila Razak

Aidila Razak is an award-winning journalist. She was the Special Reports Editor at Malaysiakini, Malaysia’s most read news website. She used to oversee a team of investigative journalists at the Kini News Lab, a unit specialising in multimedia journalism and interactive storytelling. She has covered a range of issues including human rights, social justice, the environment and politics. She has a special interest in data and multimedia journalism, and using innovative methods of reporting and storytelling.

Sakina Mohamed

Sakina is an editor with 22 years of experience in both traditional and digital newsrooms. She played a key role in transforming the National News Agency (BERNAMA)’s approach to social media and went on to establish its data journalism unit in 2021, which she continues to lead today. She also heads MyCheck Malaysia, a fact-checking initiative that promotes media literacy and equips the public with tools to navigate the constant tide of misinformation online. She believes in clear, responsible storytelling – the kind that builds trust and empowers the public.

Kuek Ser Kuang Keng 

Kuek Ser Kuang Keng is a digital journalist, data journalism trainer, and media consultant based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is the founder of Data-N, a training programme that helps newsrooms integrate data journalism into daily reporting. Partnering with regional journalism organisations including Google News Initiatives, WAN-IFRA and Internews, he has been conducting regular digital journalism workshops since 2018, reaching over 1,000 journalists in Asia. He also provides consulting and mentoring to media organisations in data, visual and interactive journalism.

Datuk Suhaimi Sulaiman

Author of “I Hate Reading the Teleprompter”, Suhaimi Sulaiman is one of Malaysia’s top media personalities. With more than 32 years of experience as producer, broadcast journalist, anchorman, media consultant and content strategist, Suhaimi practiced a hands-on approach in leadership. Currently Suhaimi is the Director General of Radio Television Malaysia (RTM). Before this, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Media Group’s TVS. Together with a young and very resourceful team, TVS, based in Kuching, Sarawak, was launched in less than 3 months, on October 10, 2020. The general entertainment TV channel is available to Astro channel 122. Suhaimi’s efforts in successfully transforming Astro AWANI from predominantly TV based to online and mobile did not go unnoticed. He was awarded the MPI-PETRONAS Special Jury Award for Leadership in Journalism by the Malaysian Press Institute in April 2019.

Hadi Azmi

Hadi Azmi is a multidisciplinary journalist who sees the press as a vital bridge between the people and the state. He embraces this role by putting himself amid the lively online discourse on Twitter. He currently writes for Hong Kong’s leading English newspaper, the South China Morning Post.

Iqbal Fatkhi

Iqbal Fatkhi is the editor-in-chief of youth news media Cilisos.my. With 6 years plus of experience in editorial journalism and digital marketing, as well as a further 2 years

Plus of experience in social media management and strategy, he has published self-produced digital content, reaching over 30 million views and 100,000 followers across social media.

Tham Seen Hau

Tham Seen Hau is the head of operations of Malaysiakini and the programme director of the Youth Journalism Programme 2025, jointly organised by UNESCO and Malaysiakini. She has over two decades of experience in the journalism industry, having worked in satellite television stations, radio stations, news agencies, and digital news portals.

Camelia Nor Azlan

Camelia is a broadcast journalist from KiniTV. She has presented and hosted numerous stories throughout her career, including KiniNews and KiniZ. Cammy began her internship with KiniTV in February 2022 and continued her journey for the past 3 years as the journalist she is today with Malaysiakini.