The annual Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists’ Fellowship Program, established by the UN General Assembly, is an opportunity for journalists from developing countries and countries in with economies in transition to apply for spending six weeks at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Programme was formerly known as the Department of of Public Information (DPI) Training Programme for Broadcasters and Journalists from Developing Countries, the fellowship was renamed in honour of Reham Al-Farra, a young journalist and DPI staff member killed in the attack on UN Headquarters in Baghdad in 2003.
The participants take part in a programme of briefings at the UN Headquarters in New York on a wide range of UN issues and visit some major media outlets and relevant non-governmental organizations. They also travel to Washington, D.C. for meetings at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and they spend a weekend in Rochester, New York, as guests of American host families to learn more about the United States and the American way of life.
The programme is not intended to provide basic skills training to broadcasters and journalists, as all participants are already working as media professionals. Rather, it exposes participants to the work of the UN and offers them an opportunity to periodically prepare news stories on behalf of their news organizations.
The candidates must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Candidates must be nationals of a pre-selected country.
- Candidates should be between the age of 22 and 35.
- Candidates should be employed by recognized, independent media organizations. Freelancers, government employees and UN employees are thus ineligible.
- Candidates must be fluent in English. All briefings and workshops during the programme are conducted in English only. Candidates from non-English-speaking countries are required to successfully pass a written and oral exam in English.
- Candidates should have several years of professional journalism experience and a proven interest in international affairs.
If you are interested in applying for the Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists’ Fellowship Programme, please find the UNIC or UNDP office closest to you and contact them to see whether your country is among this year’s list of pre-selected countries eligible to participate. This list becomes available each year in May. Applicants are selected in June.
For more information, visit this link.
