The IWMF Launches ‘Asia Reporting Project’ with Henry Luce Foundation Funding

Three-year, $300K grant will support the Round Earth Media program

[May 29, 2019 – WASHINGTON, DC] – The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) today announced a new grant from the Henry Luce Foundation (Luce Foundation) totaling $300,000 that will support the IWMF’s Round Earth Media (REM) program. Spread across three years, the funding will back groundbreaking work in Asia, expanding the IWMF’s presence in both Indonesia and Thailand.

The Luce Foundation selected the IWMF as a partner due to the REM program’s proposed work with student and early-career journalists. With the funds, the IWMF’s REM program will launch a new initiative called the Asia Reporting Project, which will support a next generation of global journalists producing multimedia reporting from Southeast Asia.

“Since 1936, the Henry Luce Foundation has invested in knowledge makers and ensured that their work informs public discussion,” said Helena Kolenda, the Foundation’s Program Director for Asia. “The Foundation supports projects that put knowledge in the hands of the individuals and communities that need access to it. We are pleased to be able to work with IWMF on the Asia Reporting Project.”

The first track of the Asia Reporting Project will debut this year in Indonesia. Led by award-winning reporter Joe Cochrane, a long-time correspondent for The New York Times, this project will partner U.S. and Indonesian early-career journalists in-country to focus on underreported stories affecting the world’s largest Muslim population.

The second track of the Asia Reporting Project will debut this fall. After a semester of study, American students will travel to Thailand in January 2020 and pair with early-career Thai journalists to report on environmental issues. This track will be led by Hamline University professor Suda Ishida, a native of Thailand and a former journalist for The Nation.

“The IWMF is determined to expand as far and wide as possible to create new opportunities for young journalists,” said Elisa Lees Muñoz, executive director of the IWMF. “Thanks to this generous funding from the Luce Foundation, we are now operating a robust program of expertise in a critical, underreported area.”

“REM’s distinctive reporting model is a match for the Luce Foundation’s work to support public education about Asia while encouraging expertise in and on the region,” continued Mary Stucky, director of the IWMF’s REM program. “As a result of this three-year project, the IWMF estimates that 80 student and early-career U.S., Indonesian and Thai journalists will receive mentoring, training and opportunities to report important stories for global audiences.”

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About the International Women’s Media Foundation

Founded in 1990, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) is the only global non-profit organization that offers emergency support, safety training, reporting opportunities and funding avenues offered specifically for female journalists. We are making more women’s bylines possible and work tirelessly to ensure a greater diversity of voices represented in the news industry worldwide. Follow the IWMF on Twitter at @IWMF, on Facebook at @IWMFPage, and Instagram on @TheIWMF.

Media Contact:
Charlotte Fox
Director of Communications
cfox@iwmf.org
(202) 567-2615