“This programme was certainly the most gratifying experience of my journalistic career,” said Mariana Araújo, of Brazil, at the close of this year's Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship Programme.
For the second time, Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship Programme was held fully virtually, welcoming a new class of fellows to the three-week programme.
Out of this year’s 700 applicants, 22 young journalists between the ages of 22 and 35 working in print, TV, radio, podcast and multimedia, were awarded the fellowship.
Spread across 12 time zones, the fellows came from Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Belarus, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Chile, Ecuador, India, Moldova, Jordan, Algeria, Afghanistan, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Brazil, Yemen, Azerbaijan and Panama.
The 30 briefings organized for the fellows enabled them to gain a greater understanding of the UN's work on issues such as global health, climate change, refugees, disinformation, disarmament, peacekeeping, and human rights.
They had the opportunity to interact with UN officials, including Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming and Executive Director of UNEP Inger Andersen, among many others.
Over the course of the programme, the journalists produced 50 news pieces in 8 languages.
On the last day, the fellows presented their work and talked about their future plans inspired by the fellowship, including covering the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Egypt, the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, and the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa.
“I can't say how much I appreciate being part of this programme,” said Vusala Abbasova, of Azerbaijan.
"As a refugee and young journalist, the UN means a lot to me. For everyone, everywhere, this Organization is one place where the world’s nations can gather together, discuss global problems, and find common solutions.”
It is our hope that the 2023 programme will once again take place in person at UN Headquarters in New York.