By Caroline Mwanga
NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations is inviting applications for the 2021 Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship (RAF) programme which will be conducted online in September-October 2021, during the opening of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
The deadline for the applications from working journalists aged 22-35 from developing countries and economies in transition is June 15, 2021. They should be armed with a “demonstrated passion for covering UN priority issues in the areas of peace and security, sustainable development, human rights, and climate action”.
During the 3-week programme, fellows will have an opportunity to gain unique, in-depth exposure to the UN, its daily work and its people, through exclusive training, briefings and interviews with top UN officials, diplomats and more.
According to an official announcement, RAF Fellows will benefit from “a more nuanced understanding of the UN and related issues, gain access to a diverse international network of journalists, and can expect a positive impact to their careers”.
Hosted every autumn at UN Headquarters, the programme brings a select group of journalists from around the world to New York to cover the opening of the General Assembly for their news outlets.
In previous years, fellows have met with the UN Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, President of the General Assembly and permanent representatives to the United Nations. The programme also arranges visits to various news organizations, such as the New York Times, Democracy Now! and BuzzFeed.
Since its founding in 1981, the fellowship has been awarded to 611 journalists from 168 countries. Upon completion of the programme, fellows are expected to continue working in journalism and promote a better understanding of the United Nations in their home countries. The programme does not provide basic skills training, as all fellows are working journalists.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RAF Fellowship went virtual for the first time in its history in 2020. A special programme was organized for RAF alumni in commemoration of its 40th anniversary. [IDN-InDepthNews – 03 June 2021]
Website: https://www.un.org/en/raf. Application form: bit.ly/raf2021. Promotional materials (poster, FAQs, media cards) available at https://trello.com/c/c05Q8sGN. Hashtag: #ReportWithRAF. Contact: leminh.nguyen@un.org
Photo: A billboard of the RAF programme outside the entrance to the UN building.
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