From September 9–11, 2026, the Design Thinking & Innovation Lab was held in Arusha, Tanzania, under the EU-supported project.
The three-day Lab was jointly hosted by International Media Support (IMS), JamiiAfrica, the Union of Tanzania Press Clubs (UTPC), and Nukta Africa, bringing together journalists, editors, and business and marketing specialists from 10 media houses and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across Tanzania.
Building on previous capacity-building initiatives, the Lab equipped participants with practical Human-Centered Design (HCD) and user-focused problem-solving approaches to address persistent challenges related to misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech.
A key focus was enabling media practitioners and CSOs to understand information disorders from the audience’s perspective and collaboratively develop locally relevant, sustainable solutions. Discussions emphasized the importance of designing interventions that reflect Tanzania’s social, cultural, and economic realities, rather than replicating large-scale technology solutions that may not respond effectively to local needs.
Following the Lab, participants returned to their respective organizations to engage colleagues and leadership, refine proposed concepts, and align them with institutional priorities. This process will contribute to the development of a coordinated strategic roadmap for addressing information disorders.
The 2026 Innovation Lab strengthened participants’ practical application of HCD, encouraged cross-newsroom collaboration, and generated actionable prototypes aimed at improving information integrity across Tanzania’s media and civic ecosystems.
