The Open Hands Initiative, a New York-based non-profit foundation, in partnership with international news website GlobalPost have announced a call for applications for the program entitled “Covering a Revolution” to be held this fall in Cairo, Egypt. The project aims at bringing together 15 aspiring young journalists from the United States and Egypt to partake in a seminar and field-reporting fellowship that will give the fellows the necessary tools for covering a democracy in transition.
Program Highlights and Schedule
The project, tentatively set to take place from October 10 to 22, will create a team of journalists who are starting out in their careers. These reporting fellows will be provide the opportunity to work together to produce a GlobalPost “Special Report” on the impact of the revolution in Egypt. All expenses will be paid for this fellowship and those who produce work that is accepted for publication on GlobalPost will be paid a standard rate for freelance articles.
The fellowship will begin with a three-day seminar that will feature a list of prominent speakers, including leading Egyptian political analysts, human rights workers as well as veteran journalists from Egypt and America. These speakers will brief the reporting fellows on the dramatic changes unfolding in Egypt and the challenges that lie ahead, and provide them a base of understanding to go out in the field in Cairo and across Egypt to carry out their reporting.
They will be assigned to cover issues including: the emergence of new political parties; the stumbling efforts to reform a police force accused of widespread abuses; the role of the Egyptian military in the transition of power; the rights of women and minorities; and the impact of the internet and social networking on the revolution and what role it will play in the future.
Based on its field reporting, the team will produce a multi-part series to be published by GlobalPost. They will also contribute to a blog which will document the daily journey of the team. The reporting fellows themselves will be responsible for posting blog entries, including short written vignettes, photo galleries and video clips. In the end, GlobalPost will work with the fellows to review all of the material they have gathered and help them give edit, fact check and give shape to a “Special Report.”
This collaborative report and daily blog will be written and produced in Arabic and English and will reach GlobalPost’s loyal and engaged audience of 2 million monthly unique visitors. As GlobalPost’s co-founder and Executive Editor, I will be leading the reporting project in the field along with GlobalPost’s Senior Correspondent in Cairo Jon Jensen and the VII Photo Agency’s co-founder Gary Knight.
N.B. The expenses-paid fellowship is also open to Writers, photographers, videographers and/or bloggers interested in this program.
Last date for submission of application is August 15, 2011
For more information and details, you can visit this link.
