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IWMF Public Health FellowshipFrequently Asked QuestionsWhat are the goals of the IWMF Public Health Fellowship? Who is eligible to apply for the fellowship? Where will the fellowship take place? What qualities is the IWMF seeking in a fellow? How many fellows will be selected? When will the selected fellows be notified? When does the 2005 fellowship program begin? What expenses will be covered during the course of the fellowship? Will family members be able to accompany the fellows to the United States? Will the fellows be able to travel while in the United States?
What are the goals of the IWMF Public Health Fellowship? The goals of the IWMF Public Health Fellowship are to offer women newspaper editors and radio producers the opportunity to enhance their ability to cover public health issues, build their journalism skills and learn first-hand about standards and practices in the U.S. media. In addition, the program seeks to empower women editors and producers with the knowledge, skills and information necessary to generate positive changes in public health coverage in the media in their home countries.
The six-month fellowship includes four months in the United States and two months in the fellows’ home countries, where the fellows will implement a public health reporting project.
Who is eligible to apply for the fellowship? The IWMF Public Health Fellowship is open to women journalists who are working in one of these countries: Asia (China and Indonesia), West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo) and Southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe).
Applicants must be full-time newspaper editors or radio producers who focus on public health issues. Preference will be given to journalists who have not had previous opportunities to travel abroad for any professional purposes.
(For information on other journalism fellowships, see the International Center for Journalists’ listing of fellowships: http://www.icfj.org/fellship.html.)
Where will the fellowship take place? The selected fellows will be placed with a leading media company in a major U.S. city for four months and will return to their home countries for the final two months of the fellowship.
What qualities is the IWMF seeking in a fellow? A successful applicant will be dedicated to a career in journalism and have five or more years of full-time experience in the profession, with at least three of those years having been focused on public health journalism. She must be currently working as a newspaper editor or radio producer and show a strong commitment to sharing knowledge and skills with colleagues upon returning home. The fellow must also have excellent written and spoken English skills in order to fully participate in and benefit from the program.
Each applicant must also clearly identify and describe a public health reporting project that she will focus on when she returns to her home country for that segment of the fellowship. Those demonstrating original approaches to covering HIV/AIDS will be given top consideration.
Fellows are selected by a panel of leading journalists--including members of the IWMF board of directors and a representative from the Public Health Program at the Open Society Institute. Candidates will be judged on the caliber and promise of their coverage of public health issues; the clarity, creativity and feasibility of their home country reporting project proposal; their eagerness to learn new skills; their maturity and sense of responsibility and their commitment to return home and help advance public health coverage in their own countries.
Finalists for the fellowship may be interviewed by the IWMF.
How many fellows will be selected? Two journalists will be selected for the 2005 fellowship.
When will the selected fellows be notified? Successful applicants for the 2005 fellowship will be notified by June 2005.
When does the 2005 fellowship program begin? The six-month program will begin in August 2005 and end in January 2006. The first four months will be in the United States. The final two months will be spent in fellows’ home countries implementing a public health reporting project. Orientation sessions will be held at the start of the fellowship and a wrap-up session will be held at the end. The fellow is required to complete the entire program.
What expenses will be covered during the course of the fellowship? The fellowship includes application costs for a U.S. visa, round-trip economy airfare from the fellows’ home countries to Washington, DC, round-trip economy airfare from Washington, DC, to the fellowship site and health insurance. A fixed stipend will be provided to cover lodging, meals and ground transportation during the U. S. segment of the fellowship. For the home country segment, a fixed stipend will be provided to support the fellow and cover all costs associated with implementing her project. The fellows will be fully responsible for any additional incidental expenses associated with the fellowship.
Will family members be able to accompany the fellows to the United States? Due to the intense focus required for the fellowship, the IWMF strongly discourages the fellows from bringing family members to the United States. The IWMF cannot support visa applications to the U.S. for family members, nor will the IWMF be responsible for any arrangements or expenses related to family members’ travel.
Will the fellows be able to travel while in the United States? Extensive travel out of the fellowship city is not recommended during the fellowship because the fellows will be required to be actively and fully engaged in the program. The fellows will not receive vacation days during the program. All arrangements and expenses related to personal travel will be the sole responsibility of the fellows.
Application forms and all supporting materials can be downloaded from www.iwmf.org/programs/phf/application.html. (If you are unable to download the PDF or Word files on this site, please e-mail us at fellowship@iwmf.org).
Applications and supporting documents may not submitted by e-mail or fax. The completed application form and supporting documents must be submitted by mail, either regular post or international courier, to:
Completed applications must be received by the IWMF on or before April 15, 2005. Incomplete applications or applications received after the due date will not be considered.
Questions Contact us at fellowship@iwmf.org.
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