Call for Applications: NextGen AI Leaders Programme
March 11, 2026
We’re excited to announce the NextGen AI Leaders Programme. It’s a program for young newsroom leaders across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The goal is to answer one key question: What does it take to lead a team through the fastest technological disruption of our generation? Apply by March 15.
Over the past few years, we’ve run AI workshops, sprints, and hackathons with newsrooms across Europe and the US. We’ve watched journalists go from skeptical to building tools they actually use; we’ve seen what works.
But we’ve also seen what problems get in the way, and it’s almost never the technology.
The tech is moving fast. New uses are possible every day as the models get better and better. That, frankly, is the easy part. The hard part is everything else: the conversation devolving into hype and fear and confusion. The new hire who’s excited but doesn’t know where to start, the veteran who feels threatened, and the team leader caught in between, trying to figure out what to actually do on Monday morning.
These are leadership challenges, not technical ones, and they’re not getting easier.
That’s why we’re launching this program.
The facts
We’ve teamed up with Anita Zielina of Better Leaders Lab and WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, to build a program specifically for young media leaders navigating this moment.
We’re now looking for 24 participants — product leads, editorial managers, audience directors, commercial leads, innovation editors, founders — between the ages of 25 and 40, currently leading teams at small or mid-size news organizations in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa.
What makes this different
This program has three goals:
- Improving leadership and culture. We will tackle the human side: bringing your team along, having the hard conversations, rethinking hiring and skills, and safeguarding the values that matter.
- Encouraging hands-on experimentation. We will teach the tools: prototyping, testing, and deploying solutions to real challenges in your work. The best way to learn is to actually build something.
- Seeding AI champions. You will leave the program ready to drive AI adoption in your organization. Not top-down but through trust, experimentation, and leading by example.
How it works
The program runs for 12 weeks, from mid-April through the end of June:
- In-person kickoff in Frankfurt, April 14–15
- Eight virtual sessions on Tuesdays, combining hands-on work with leadership discussions
- In-person residency in Marseille at the World News Media Congress, May 31 – June 1
- Time commitment: About 3 hours per week
And thanks to the Google News Initiative, the program is tuition-free for WAN-IFRA members. If your organization isn’t a member yet, it can become one.
Apply
The window for shaping how AI lands in newsrooms is still open, but it won’t be forever. The people making these decisions should be equipped to make them well.
We’re accepting applications through March 15, 2026. If you’re a young media leader in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa, please apply. And if you know someone who should be in this room, send this their way.
And if you have questions, you can always reach us at [email protected].