IWMF Awarded $375K to Fund Journalism on Islamic Arts and Culture in the U.S.

Grant from Doris Duke Foundation will support written, audio and visual stories

[February 14, 2023 – WASHINGTON, DC] – The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has received a $375,000 grant to continue its Round Earth Media (REM) reporting initiative on Muslim culture in the United States for three additional years. This gift from the Doris Duke Foundation’s (DDF) Building Bridges Program shows renewed, elevated support from the Doris Duke Foundation to the IWMF.

“We are thrilled that DDF continues to recognize the power and reach of Round Earth Media’s unique reporting model,” said Elisa Lees Muñoz, executive director of the IWMF. “Through this initiative, our grantees will produce thoughtful coverage of Muslim culture, expanding the narrative around Muslim communities in the U.S.” Mary Stucky, director of the IWMF’s Round Earth Media program, continued, “This renewed partnership with DDF will allow us to accelerate our work supporting projects that reach diverse audiences through a wide range of media outlets.”

Through this funding, REM will build on its successful model of encouraging creative reporting styles by journalists who are from, or deeply familiar with, the communities they cover. The program will result in an estimated 25 stories, as well as an hour-long documentary for distribution by public radio stations nationwide.

“The IWMF is an exemplar of producing diverse, inclusive reporting on underrepresented communities,” said Zeyba Rahman, Director of the Building Bridges Program. “DDF is proud to continue supporting REM’s work to further illuminate the artistic and cultural contributions of U.S. Muslims.”

The REM project will be led by Aida Alami, a Moroccan journalist with extensive experience reporting on race and religion for The New York Times and The New York Review of Books, among other major media outlets. Alami is an expert on bringing humanity to complex global stories, having covered Muslim communities in France and the U.S. as well as reporting on Syrian refugees in Europe and the Middle East and migrants in Morocco.

Alami and her team will support journalists who are intimately aware of Muslim culture’s role in the U.S.; in particular, original, unique stories that will enrich public understanding and shake the presence of tired cliches in reporting.

Updates and reporting from the program will be available on the IWMF website at iwmf.org/programs/round-earth-media/.

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About the International Women’s Media Foundation
The IWMF is the only global organization built to serve the holistic needs of women and nonbinary journalists. We are a bold and inclusive organization that supports journalists where they are with awards, reporting opportunities, fellowships, grants, safety training and emergency aid. As one of the largest supporters of women-produced journalism, our transformative work strengthens equal opportunity and press freedom worldwide. Follow the IWMF on Twitter at @IWMF, on Facebook at @IWMFPage, on Instagram on @TheIWMF and on TikTok @theiwmf.

About the Doris Duke Foundation

The Doris Duke Foundation supports the well-being of people and the planet for a more creative, equitable and sustainable future. We operate five national grantmaking programs—in the performing arts, the environment, medical research, child and family well-being, and mutual understanding between communities—as well as Duke Farms and Shangri La, two centers that serve the public directly. Through the Building Bridges Program, the foundation supports national efforts, working with U.S. Muslims, to increase mutual understanding and well-being among diverse populations for the benefit of building stronger, inclusive communities. The program is anchored in the conviction that strategic use of the arts and media can help provide an effective social prescription for achieving this vision. To learn more, visit dorisduke.org.