Saskia Hotwin is the new African correspondent for NOS as of 1 March. The 33-year-old journalist will report on developments on the African continent with current reporter Ellis van Gelder.

Houttuin has been a correspondent in Africa for RTL Nieuws for the past four years. She also works for Trouw and VPRO, among others. She was nominated last year for the De Tegel Journalism Award, for her reporting on refugees from Tigray (Ethiopia) who have sought refuge in eastern Sudan. She previously won the Philip Blumendale Award for Gifted Presentation Journalism.

“Rich in culture but also in conflict”

The new NOS reporter lives in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, but plans to move to West Africa within a year. This area is in the news because of immigration, climate change and Islamic terrorism. “It’s an incredibly interesting area,” she says of her next move. “Rich in culture, but also in conflict.”

Houttuin wants to shed light on news from Africa from a different perspective. “For example, by looking at how people themselves handle their problems: Malians planting forests to combat desertification, or a Senegalese soap opera that provides information on the coronavirus, or a hip-hop artist in Burkina Faso trying to de-radicalise local youth.”

Esther Bootsma, chief foreign affairs editor at NOS, looks forward to Houttuin’s stories. “We are getting an enthusiastic and expert African reporter now who has visited more than twenty countries in Africa in the past 10 years.”