Deadline: June 7, 2021
Applications are open for the Dialogue Journalism Fellowship 2021. Over the course of the year-long program, the group of chosen fellows will have access to online one-on-one mentorship sessions in addition to three four-day capacity building sessions, training them in the practice of ‘dialogue journalism’.
A fairly new concept, dialogue journalism strives to move away from the sort of one-way reporting that dominates the modern media landscape, instead promoting civil discourse by putting communities at the heart of the news agenda. Key to this aim is disseminating information that highlights common ground and shared challenges, rather than stories that force groups of different ethnic and religious backgrounds further apart.
By educating participants in the principles of dialogue journalism, the program will bolster their ability to ethically report on issues of faith, identity and conflict, helping them to bridge religious and cultural divides and combat hate speech. Crucially, the scheme will also cover the journalistic skills needed to meaningfully impact policy making, allowing participants to use their work to help promote peacebuilding at the top of governments.
Benefits
- Online one-on-one mentorship will be offered to fellows from different media outlets such as print, radio, online, and TV. The mentors will have expertise in different aspects of the media industry. They will aim to:
- Identify editorial objectives with the fellows
- Provide feedback and coaching in areas such as video editing and story structure
- Identify strengths and areas of development of the first deliverable draft
- Agree on support needs to fine-tune the story
- In addition to the one-on-one mentorship and group training— which might be provided in-person, depending on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic — the program will offer participants a grant of up to 2,000 EUR for producing content that follows the principles of dialogue journalism, helping the participants become active advocates for peace by shining the spotlight on stories that foster social cohesion.
Eligibility
- Eligible fellows are required to have at least five years of experience in journalism or other relevant fields. They can be working on any platform (print, podcast, digital);
- They must be native to one of the mainly developing countries of the Arab Region;
- They must currently live in and write for media in the Arab Region;
- They must be between the ages of 28 and 40;
- They must be currently employed as professional journalists for print, television, radio or electronic journalism organizations. Both full-time and freelance journalists are invited to apply.
- They should have an interest in interreligious dialogue and journalism, peacebuilding, and social cohesion.
Application
The following documents are required for application:
- CV (no longer than three pages);
- Personal photo;
- Motivation letter indicating the applicant’s interest and focus of the proposed production, clearly stating its connection to interreligious dialogue;
- Recommendation from a current or previous media outlet that the applicant has worked with;
- Video of the applicant introducing his/herself and explaining their expectations from this opportunity (not longer than one minute);
- Links to three previous work samples (articles, video reports, TV programs, documentaries, etc.)
For more information, visit Dialogue Journalism Fellowship.