Kim Wall Memorial Fund Announces Two Women Journalists as 2020 Grantees
Recipients honor Kim’s legacy by investigating underreported stories outside of mainstream media
NEW YORK, March 23, 2020 – Family and friends of the late Swedish journalist Kim Wall, in partnership with the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), announced two women journalists as this year’s Kim Wall Memorial Fund grantees. Now in its third year, the grant honors women whose reporting covers uncommon issues – what Kim liked to call “the undercurrents of rebellion.” The selection committee, comprised of IWMF staff as well as Kim’s friends and family, chose this year’s recipients from a pool of more than 80 applicants from more than 40 countries.
On what would have been Kim’s 33rd birthday, the fund is pleased to announce Clair MacDougall (Australia) and Mia Alberti (Portugal) as this year’s grant winners, each of whom will receive $5,000 for their reporting projects. Both Clair and Mia will use the grant money to fund forthcoming stories examining human adversity in the wake of global issues such as displacement and social mobility.
- Clair MacDougall is an independent journalist and writer who covers Africa. Currently based in Burkina Faso, Clair’s recent work has focused on the region’s ongoing humanitarian and security crisis. Previously, she reported on the Ebola outbreak and its aftermath, contributing to The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize winning coverage, in which she also received the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund Award. Clair’s work has appeared in outlets including Vogue, Newsweek, Time, Smithsonian Magazine, Al Jazeera America and Foreign Policy, among others. Clair, who first met Kim while on a reporting trip to Uganda, also holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
- Mia Alberti is a multimedia freelance reporter with a strong focus on Europe and Latin America. Currently based in São Paulo, Brazil, Mia has covered violence against indigenous groups, the election of current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the Amazon fires and the Venezuelan migrant crisis. Mia’s work has been featured on the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera English, TRT World and others, and she previously served as a producer for Al Jazeera in Doha and for CNN in London. Mia holds a master’s degree in International Journalism from City University in London.
Kim’s parents, Ingrid and Joachim Wall, said: “Across her reporting, Kim was steadfast in her commitment to uncover and illuminate human issues that are too often suppressed in today’s world. Carrying Kim’s spirit forward, we are excited this year’s grant will support two exceptional women in their own journalistic pursuits.”
The Kim Wall Memorial Fund Selection Committee remarked on this year’s grantees: “These are exciting stories that show the range of longing for a better living. The phenomenon is not new, but what is important is the focus on the people. These women are addressing the larger problem of displacement and mobile living from a smaller lens.”
Additionally, after careful consideration, the IWMF and the Wall family have decided to postpone the annual ceremony honoring this year’s grantees until further notice, in light of the ongoing and evolving situation around the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The fund looks forward to celebrating today’s recipients among Kim’s friends and family at a later date.
About The Kim Wall Memorial Fund
Kim Wall was an award-winning journalist working in print, video, radio and long-form writing.
She reported on gender, popular culture, identity and foreign policy from China, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Haiti, North Korea, India and the Marshall Islands. Her work appeared in a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, TIME, Slate, Vice and The Guardian. In August 2017, Kim was killed while on assignment in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Kim Wall Memorial Fund was established by her family and friends to honor her spirit and legacy. The grant supports young female reporters to cover subculture, broadly defined, and what Kim liked to call “the undercurrents of rebellion.” For more information, please visit https://www.rememberingkimwall.com/ or connect on Twitter @TheKimWallFund and Facebook @kimwallmemorialfund.
About the IWMF
Founded in 1989, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) is the only global non-profit organization that offers emergency support, safety training, grants, 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.
###