ICFJ Elliott Award: Khalid Bencherif, Amplifying Marginalized Voices in North Africa

Khalid Bencherif is a freelance investigative journalist who works on environment reporting and AI-related projects. Originally from Morocco's Tafilalet region, he is currently based in Berlin.

For Bencherif, winning the Elliott Award was a big career boost. "ICFJ gave me a strong push to develop my career, it enhanced my CV crucially, which led me to get more journalism opportunities, including fellowships and grants," he says.

This interview has been edited.

How have you been involved with ICFJ over the years?

As part of the Michael Elliott Award [in 2022], I participated in a short-term internship at The Economist in London. It was my first opportunity to travel outside my country, and although I felt some nervousness and surprise at first, it was a truly important and inspiring experience. My colleague from Cameroon and I had training sessions with a group of experienced editors, and I was also hosted by ONE Campaign to share my journalistic experience with the audience.

What was the biggest outcome from participating in the program?

After my winning story, my community in the southeast of Morocco got more coverage. I personally got a lot of emails from different news outlets traveling there to cover that region. And I think that's good for my community, at least to not be forgotten.

Regarding my career, ICFJ gave me a strong push to develop my career, it enhanced my CV crucially, which led me to get more journalism opportunities, including fellowships and grants.

What is something impactful you have worked on since participating in an ICFJ program that you are proud of and would want to highlight?

I built an app without a technical background. "3onwan" is an AI editor tailored specifically for Arabic journalism. The platform is equipped with 12 AI-powered journalism tools designed specifically for Arabic workflows, including brainstorming, desk research, fieldwork preparation, translating, visualizing and editing. I have launched it on Versel as a prototype.

In the era of AI, I think journalists, bloggers and activists in the North Africa region should have the opportunity to not be anonymous, and get smart tools that are designed for them, which will empower their voices and enhance journalism in that region.

Currently, I am developing it more to be ready for production soon, and looking for funds to make my project live.

Why is it so important right now to provide the kind of support to journalists that ICFJ does, especially in Africa?

I think the insane hostility of regimes towards the press, the absence of economic rights as workers including low-salaries, and the technological and information explosion make the work and life for African journalists so difficult, and many of them change careers, while this is the time when their countries need them more than any time.

I think programs, such as ICFJ, could facilitate the mission of African journalists, which will improve the situation in their countries in general.

What's the most impactful/meaningful story that you've worked on in your career?

I think the most impactful story I've worked on is "The Ghost Village," an investigation into how climate change turned my ancestral oasis village in Morocco's Tafilalet region into an abandoned settlement.

What made it powerful wasn't just the reporting. It was personal. I grew up in the Tafilalet oasis region, watching the local people making a living from subsistence farming for generations. When I returned as a journalist, the wells were dry, the farms abandoned, and villagers scattered across Morocco and Europe searching for work.

I spent months documenting what happens when an entire community's water disappears, interviewing locals, analyzing decades of groundwater data, and tracing the policy failures that accelerated the collapse. The piece became both an investigative report and a personal reckoning with losing a place that shaped my identity.

The story resonated internationally, it won not only the Michael Elliott Award, it reached the 2022 Livingston Award Finalists, and was shortlisted for the True Story Award. But what mattered most was that it gave voice to those climate migrant villagers, when no one sees them.

Why did you choose to become a journalist?

Because I was raised in a poor and marginalized village, and suffered a miserable childhood due to poverty, I developed a deep sense of injustice, and I did not want others to suffer what people like me suffered. Therefore, I decided to be a voice for the marginalized and forgotten, and a scathing critic of the corrupt and criminal politicians.

However, I have realized that the influence of the press is very limited in dictatorships, especially when the people are unwilling to embrace journalism and free voices, and are indifferent to the sacrifices made by journalists.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to an aspiring journalist?

It's great to be a journalist who constantly defends the public interest in your African country, but don't forget yourself. Take care of your mental health and your economic situation. You are ultimately just a human being, not Jesus the Savior.

Is there anything you would like to add?

In my view, more programs should be launched to educate people about the value of journalism and journalists. Most people, especially in dictatorships, don't appreciate good journalism or understand its positive impact on their lives, or at least they consider it a luxury rather than a necessity like schools and hospitals.

I believe this problem is global, not unique to Africa. I just cannot understand how a football player, who literally contributes nothing to society, can be given such unbelievable status and millions of dollars a month, while a journalist who literally sacrifices himself for the public good, serving his community and humanity, is barely known and can barely pay his bills!

*ICFJ's Michael Elliott Award is celebrating its ten-year anniversary. You can learn more about the program here and make a donation to support the program here.