Scholarships for journalists to study religion

Journalists interested in furthering their study of religion can apply for a scholarship.

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/scholarships-journalists-study-religion-offered-worldwide

The Lilly Scholarships in Religion from the Religion Newswriters Association are offered to full-time journalists, including freelancers, in the news media. Journalists in any position or beat are eligible.

Scholarships are valid for accredited theology schools, university-related divinity schools, or college/university departments of religion/philosophy and can be used for traditional courses, shorter intensive courses or distance-learning courses.

Scholarships are awarded as stipends of up to US$5,000 each. They may cover tuition, books, application fees, registration fees, lab fees, child care, activity fees and other expenses related to the course.

The RNA does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability or other protected characteristic as established by law.

Applications are reviewed quarterly (April 1, July 1, Oct. 1 and Jan. 1).

For more information, click here.

Nominate someone for the Gleitsman International Activist Award

http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/05/25/activist_award/

Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership is seeking out the next winner of its Gleitsman International Activist Award. Nominate individuals you believe have initiated great social change in their communities or countries. The deadline for nominations is 30 June 2011.

The award will be given in the fall of 2011 and includes a $125,000 prize and a specially commissioned sculpture designed by Maya Lin, the creator of the Vietnam War Memorial. Past honorees include Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Yunus, and, most recently, Karen Tse, founder of International Bridges to Justice.

Please note that the award is not presented posthumously, nor is it granted to groups or organisations. Self nominations cannot be considered.

For more information, see the Center for Public Leadership website.

Digital journalism fellowship offered in Germany

Date: 28/08/11 - 24/06/12
Deadline: 15/06/11
International Academy of Journalism
Location: Germany See map: Google Maps

Journalists interested in digital training can apply for a fellowship in Germany.

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/digital-journalism-fellowship-offered-germany-worldwide

The Intajour Fellowship Programme, sponsored by the International Academy of Journalism, offers ten months of in-person and online classes around the theme “Journalism in the Digital World.” The program starts August, 2011.

Fellows will attend sessions in Hamburg, Cologne and Berlin and participate in lectures, practical group work and discussions. The online training phase of the program requires a commitment of seven hours per week.

The program is aimed at professional journalists from countries where there is a shortage of training of this kind. It will be conducted in English.

Fellows will receive a stipend to cover course fees, accommodation, meals and international travel costs.

For more information, click here.

Journalists interested in human rights can apply for a free workshop in Geneva

Date: 03/10/11 - 07/10/11
Deadline: 31/07/11
Gmedia Center
Location: GenevaSwitzerland See map: map.search.ch, Google Maps

Journalists interested in human rights can apply for a free workshop in Geneva.

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/grants-human-rights-workshop-offered-journalists-worldwide

The workshop, sponsored by Gmedia Center, aims to enhance and deepen journalists’ understanding of human rights principles and protection mechanisms.

It will be held in conjunction with the session of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodical Review.

Qualified applications will receive grant sponsorship to attend the workshop. The grant includes tuition, airfare, accommodation and a daily allowance.

Journalists from Togo, Uganda, Thailand, Venezuela and Syria are strongly encouraged to apply.

For more information, click here.

AIDS Vaccine J2J Training: Bangkok 2011

Date: 11-15 September 2011
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

The Journalist 2 Journalist (J2J) Project of the National Press Foundation is offering fellowships to its two-day training program on HIV vaccine research in Bangkok, Thailand, prior to the 11th AIDS Vaccine Conference. This conference will bring together leading scientists and HIV vaccine researchers.

NPF hopes to invite a strong group of international fellows. Fellowships that include air travel to and from Bangkok, lodging, per diem, and most meals are open to journalists who have covered HIV/AIDS, health or science for at least three years.

Twenty-two fellowships will be awarded to qualified print, radio/broadcast, and online journalists. Applications are encouraged from reporters with experience covering the social, economic and larger societal impact of HIV/AIDS, as well as the science and medicine. All applicants must have strong English speaking and reading skills.

The deadline for applications is 5:00 PM EST, Tuesday, June 7. All application materials must be submitted in English. Applications or application material sent via air mail or email will not be considered for review. Click here to apply.

Fellows will be required to attend all J2J training sessions and daily press briefings at the 2011 AIDS Vaccine conference.

HOW TO APPLY:

You can NOT save an incomplete application and return to it later, so please have everything you need before starting the application. You’ll need the following:

Two samples of your work from the past year.
A letter of support from an editor or supervisor (Or if you're a freelancer, a letter from someone you've worked with in the past)
A brief, narrative autobiography (NO CVs).
A cover letter explaining why you’re interested in this program.
Application available here. All applicants will be notified when the fellowships are awarded, 2-4 weeks after the application deadline. Each accepted fellow will receive a letter of invitation to attend but will be responsible for making the necessary visa arrangements.

This training opportunity is organized by the Journalist to Journalist Project of the National Press Foundation, a U.S.-based, non-profit independent journalism education organization. Funding is provided by The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. For more information, contact Ms. Maha Masud at programs@nationalpress.org.

UN launches photo contest on green issues

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/un-launches-photo-contest-green-issues-worldwide

To celebrate World Environment Day 2011, the UN has launched a photo contest.

Organized by Greening the Blue, the internal organization of the UN dedicated to sustainability issues, the contest is open to photographers worldwide. Entries must be submitted before May 27, 2011.

The competition provides an opportunity to raise the profile of existing green activities taking place within the UN, and will enable everyone to share their ideas of what a greener UN might look like. It provides a space for creativity and imagination, for hopes and dreams.

All photos must reflect the theme Visions of a Sustainable United Nations. Applicants can submit up to five photos each.

The winning entry will be announced on World Environment Day, June 5, 2011.

The winner will receive an award, be profiled on Greening the Blue and their photograph will be framed and presented to the UN Secretary-General.

For more information, click here

OPEC journalism competition seeks nominees

Deadline: 31/05/11
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/opec-journalism-competition-seeks-nominees-worldwide

Journalists who have reported on the petroleum industry for more than ten years can be nominated for an award.

The OPEC Award for Journalism, sponsored by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), honors journalists and organizations that have devoted their careers to objective reporting and analysis of the oil market.

A panel of academics, journalists and oil industry experts will judge entries.

The winner will receive €5,000 (about US$7,180) which will be donated on the winner's behalf to any institution or charity of his or her choice.

Candidates may nominate themselves or be nominated by a third party.

For more information, click here.

UN fellowship for journalists from developing countries

Date: 11/05/11
Location: United States See map: Google Maps
Journalists from developing countries can apply for a UN fellowship.

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/un-fellowship-journalists-developing-countries-worldwide

The Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists’ Fellowship Programme, sponsored by the UN General Assembly, gives journalists from developing countries and countries in transition the opportunity to spend six weeks at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

Participants take part in briefings, visit major media outlets and travel to Washington, D.C. for meetings at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Candidates must be between the age of 22 and 35, be employed for a recognized media outlet and fluent in English. The fellowship includes flights and a daily stipend to cover housing, meals and other transportation.

To find a list of eligible countries, candidates must contact the United Nations Information Centre or United Nations Development Programme office closest to them. Applicants will be selected in June.

For more information, click here.

Investigative journalism competition

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/investigative-journalism-competition-accepting-entries-worldwide

Deadline: 01/07/11
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
Investigative journalists reporting across borders can enter a competition.

The Daniel Pearl Awards, sponsored by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, recognize and reward excellence in cross-border investigative reporting. There is also a special citation for reporting carried out in challenging circumstances.

The award was created in honor of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was slain by militants in Pakistan in 2002. Past ICIJ award winners have reported about abuses faced by immigrants in American workplaces and the involvement of Sweden in the CIA secret renditions program.

The competition is open to journalists of any kind of media who have reported in at least two countries on a topic of world significance. Two US$5,000 first-place prizes will be awarded, one to a U.S.-based journalist or news outlet and one to a non-U.S.-based reporter or outlet. Five finalists will receive US$1,000.

For more information, click here.

Press Freedom Day Message

South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) and South Asia Media Commission (SAMC) have in a joint statement urged the governments in South Asia to ensure that internet freedom in their countries is not threatened by any repressive provisions or measures.

Issued ahead of the World Press Freedom Day, which falls on May 3 with its theme for the year being "21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers", the regional media bodies called the commemoration an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of media freedom; to evaluate media freedom, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

While the new media has empowered citizens to express themselves, we are concerned about the restrictions on the free flow of information,” said SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam and SAMC President Kumar Ketkar and Secretary General Najam Sethi.

Reports of website blocking and filtering, content manipulation, attacks on and imprisonment of bloggers, and cyberattacks have all increased in recent years.The governments in the region should commit themselves to supporting and expanding press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age,” they said.

While South Asia has mourned the killing of at least 20 journalists, 12 of them from Pakistan, in 2010, it has seen two deaths by now in the line of duty, one each in India and Pakistan.

Umesh Rajput, a reporter with the Hindi-language daily Nai Dunia, was shot dead on February 22, 2011, in Raipur, India by two motorcycle-riding gunmen wearing masks. Police found a note containing a death threat related to his writing near his body. Wali Khan Babar, a reporter with Geo TV on January 13, 2011, was shot shortly after filing a report about gangland clashes in Karachi.

“The governments should work for creating an environment conducive to the performance of professional work of journalists ensuring their security and doing away with impunities,” the leaders of the journalists’ regional bodies said.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed May 3 as World Press Freedom Day in 1993. Since then, it has been celebrated each year on May 3, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, which calls for free, independent, pluralistic media worldwide characterizing free press as essential to democracy and a fundamental human right.

Fellowship brings international journalists to US

Date: 29/04/11

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/fellowship-brings-international-journalists-us-worldwide

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State
Location: United States See map: Google Maps
Journalism and communication professionals with limited experience in the U.S. are invited to apply for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program for mid-career professionals.

The fellowship provides 10 months of non-degree academic study and related professional experiences in the U.S.

Participants from the following regions are eligibile: Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, East Asia and Pacific, South and Central Asia and the Western Hemisphere.

For a full list of participating countries, click here.

During the program, fellows pursue both their individual program goals and work closely with their Humphrey colleagues in workshops and seminars. Unlike a typical American graduate school experience, the program encourages fellows to travel away from their host campus to learn more about American culture and to network with their American peers.

Primary funding for the Humphrey Program is provided by the U.S. Congress through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.

Applicants are required to have at least an undergraduate degree, a minimum of five years of full-time, professional experience, limited or no prior experience in the United States, demonstrated leadership qualities, a commitment to public service in their community and fluent English.

There are rolling deadlines for different regions.

For more information, click here.