
Applications are invited for the 2009 Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships (AFPF) and Daniel Pearl Fellowships which offer journalists from developing countries a chance to gain experience on American newspapers.
The AFPF, an American non-profit NGO, is a cultural and professional exchange programme through which journalists (and their readers) can gain a broader view of the world and journalism. The AFPF in a news release says this helps to create "mutual understanding and peaceful relations between Americans and people of other nations. Fellows return home with new journalistic skills and knowledge, and a desire to advance a free, responsible press in their own countries–without which democracy does not exist."
Since 1984, the core programme has offered developing world journalists a chance to work as reporters at American newspapers for five months. The programme, which runs from mid-March to early September, is offered annually to about ten professional print journalists aged between 25 and 35.
Fellows spend most of their time reporting for their American host newspapers but are also encouraged to attend conferences and workshops, read journalism books and make short-term professional visits to organisations that are relevant to their work at home. Special AFPF seminars are organised for the Fellows at the beginning, middle and end of the programme. On returning home, Fellows organise and lead seminars based on the knowledge and skills gained through their AFPF experiences.
Since 2002, AFPF has worked with the Daniel Pearl Foundation to provide special fellowships in honour of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal South Asia bureau chief who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002. These fellowships are offered to Muslim journalists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Deadline for applications is August 1. Applicants must be employed full time by the news or editorial department of an independent newspaper, wire service, online publication, or magazine and must be fluent in written and spoken English. Click here for further details, as well as application forms.
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