The Walrus Names Ketsia Beboua as the 2025/26 CIBC Digital Fellow for Emerging Black Journalists

Toronto, November 8, 2025: The Walrus is excited to welcome Ketsia Beboua as the 2025/26 CIBC Digital Fellow for Emerging Black Journalists, the fourth fellow thanks to this partnership.

A writer and creator driven by a passion for storytelling in all its forms, Beboua brings to The Walrus her curiosity for ideas, voices, and perspectives to journalism, continuing her pursuit of stories that challenge, entertain, and connect audiences. 

The fellowship will provide Beboua hands-on training and mentorship to conceptualize, produce, and share storytelling across a variety of digital platforms. She will also benefit from personalized guidance tailored to her goals, a collaborative environment, and opportunities to participate in educational and career development workshops. 

“I’m excited to join The Walrus as this year’s CIBC Digital Journalism Fellow and contribute to the kind of journalism that informs and inspires. This fellowship is a meaningful opportunity to sharpen my digital storytelling skills, learn from industry leaders, and help shape narratives that reflect the diversity and complexity of Canadian lives.” —Ketsia Beboua, CIBC Digital Fellow for Emerging Black Journalists, The Walrus

In partnership with CIBC, this fellowship was created to offer early-career Black journalists avenues to develop a strong foundation in contemporary journalism practices, including digital production, while contributing to Canada’s ongoing conversation through compelling multimedia storytelling. 

“Having begun my own journey at The Walrus as the 2023/24 CIBC Digital Journalism Fellow, I know first-hand what an exciting and formative role this is. I’m thrilled to welcome Ketsia to the team and to collaborate with her in bringing her keen visual eye and dynamic storytelling skills to our digital work.” —Makda Mulatu, Digital Production Manager, The Walrus

“On behalf of CIBC, I’d like to congratulate Ketsia Beboua as the 2025-2026 CIBC Digital Fellow for Emerging Black Journalists,” said Andrew Greenlaw, Senior Vice-President, Brand, Community Investment, and Corporate Events. “Together with our community partners, we’re creating a world where everyone has the opportunity to realize their ambitions. We are proud to support emerging Black journalists like Ketsia at a time when the value of fact-based journalism is of critical importance to the communities we serve.”

The CIBC Digital Fellowship for Emerging Black Journalists supports the next generation of Black journalists in Canada and reflects The Walrus’s ongoing commitment to equity and inclusion, mentorship, and digital innovation in storytelling.

Ketsia Beboua Ketsia is a writer and creator driven by a passion for storytelling in all its forms. She explores narrative through film, television, and digital media, with projects ranging from the PBS-aired short documentary Passion & Pursuit to her surrealist short film Thalia. She is currently developing a half-hour comedy series, MisDirected, which has been optioned by Archipelago. At The Walrus, she brings her curiosity for ideas, voices, and perspectives to journalism, continuing her pursuit of stories that challenge, entertain, and connect audiences. Looking ahead, she aims to keep bridging creative and journalistic storytelling to reach global audiences across platforms. 

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About The Walrus The Walrus provokes new thinking and sparks conversation on matters vital to Canada. As a registered charity, we publish independent, fact-based journalism across platforms; produce national, ideas-focused events, including our flagship series The Walrus Talks; and train emerging storytellers through our fellowship program. The Walrus is invested in the idea that a healthy society relies on informed citizens.

About CIBC CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with 14 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. Across Personal and Business Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada, in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found at www.cibc.com/ca/media-centre.

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