LDC5 Journalism Fellowship Eligibility

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1.    Background

The LDC5 journalism fellowship (the Fellowship) is being carried out by the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) in partnership with the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF).

The Fellowship will be facilitated by TRF and aims to develop a stronger discipline of development journalism throughout the LDCs and prepare LDC journalists to report on the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) that will take place from 23-27 January 2022 in Doha, Qatar.

The programme’s purpose is to equip a cohort of selected journalists throughout the LDCs with better reporting skills, so that people living in these countries are aware of global decisions being made on their behalf, can connect multilateral processes to their own lives and can hold decision makers to account.

Journalists who complete the Fellowship will be offered the opportunity to travel and participate in the LDC5 conference.

2.    Fellowship Programme

The Fellowship will be divided into two parts:

Virtual training programme by region: 15 - 26 November 2021 delivering on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for Group C (conducted in English): Mozambique, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Comoros, Madagascar, Tanzania, Yemen; 29 November - 10 December 2021 delivering on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for Group A (conducted in French)-Haiti, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Guinea, Burundi, Djibouti, Senegal, Benin, Chad, Mauritania, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo; and for Group D (conducted in English) Afghanistan, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Kiribati, Bhutan, Lao PDR, Nepal; 30 November - 16 December 2021 delivering during three weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Group B (conducted in English) Central African Republic, Guiné-Bissau, Liberia, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Rwanda, Gambia, São Tomé e Príncipe, Sierra Leone. Course duration will be six days, spread out over a two or three week period, i.e. two or three days per week, for approximately four hours/day

Two-day refresher training course delivered in person from 22-23 January 2022 at LDC5 in Doha, Qatar. Trainers will also be present for the duration of LDC5 to support LDC journalists at the conference.

3. Eligibility

a)    The Fellowship is open to applications from journalists with a minimum of five years of experience and a good level of spoken and written French or English who are reporting in any of the 46 Least Developed Countries*.

b)    Applicants must have a passport for international travelling  valid until Jan 2023 (at least).

c)    Applications must include proof that the applicant is working for local media and publishing for local audiences. In the case of freelance journalists, proof of regular publication by a recognized local media is required.

d)    The UN-OHRLLS reserves the right to verify the eligibility of all applicants.

4.    Application Submissions

a)    All applications must be made through the Application Form.

b)    At no stage in the application process will there be a fee charged for entry.

c)    Deadline for the application is on 17 October 2021 23:59 EST. Late applications will not be considered. UN-OHRLLS reserves the right to amend the deadline for submissions at its discretion.

d)    Applications must include a letter signed by the journalist’s editor, acknowledging the application and granting permission for the journalist to attend the six days of training (approx. four hours/day).

e)    Applications must include a link to two stories (print, web, TV, radio) published by the applicant, with their byline visible.  Stories must have been carried by a local media outlet within the last 12 months. For stories published in media outlets without an online presence, scanned copies of the story (for radio, a transcribed copy of the story in English or French including date of transmission) will suffice.

f)    Stories should cover development issues related to LDCs including, but not limited to: climate change, trade, women’s empowerment, poverty reduction, health, education, peace and justice, food security etc.

g)    Stories can be submitted in any language. Stories in languages other than English and French must be accompanied by an English translation.

h)    UN-OHRLLS will determine the successful applications based on: geographical balance, gender balance, quality of published stories and proof of employment in a recognized media outlet.  The selection of successful applicants shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.

If you have difficulty applying, please email sass@un.org with the title of the course in the subject line. Please allow three working days for organizers to respond.

5.    Successful Applications

a)    Successful candidates will be informed by e-mail before 10 November 2021.

b)    The offer for successful applicants to participate in the Fellowship is non–transferable and there is no cash alternative.

c)    Successful candidates must be available to participate in online training from: 15 - 26 November 2021 for Group C: Mozambique, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Comoros, Madagascar, Tanzania; 29 November - 10 December 2021 for Group A: Haiti, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Guinea, Burundi, Djibouti, Senegal, Benin, Chad, Mauritania, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo; and for Group D: Afghanistan, Yemen, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Kiribati, Bhutan, Lao PDR, Nepal; 30 November - 16 December 2021 for Group B: Central African Republic, Guiné-Bissau, Liberia, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Rwanda, Gambia, São Tomé e Príncipe, Sierra Leone.

d)    Travel and accommodation will be covered by the United Nations.

e)    One outstanding fellow will be selected to take part in a fellowship, in the autumn of 2022, at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.

6.  Personal Data

UN-OHRLLS may share personal data with third parties, including the Thomson Reuters Foundation, for non-marketing/non-commercial purposes.

*Least Developed Countries

Afghanistan; Angola; Bangladesh; Benin; Bhutan; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gambia; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Haiti; Kiribati; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Myanmar; Nepal; Niger; Rwanda; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tuvalu; Uganda; United Republic of Tanzania; Yemen; Zambia.