Adelante Professional Development Programs in Latin America
In-Country Training
The Adelante in-country programming will run from April 2019 to July 2020 and will include professional development programs in each of the six focus regions, with some variation based on feasibility and need. The six focus regions include: Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the Mexico-United States border. Local journalists selected to participate will receive training and support from experts in media and country-specific thematic areas. This will include a variety of workshops, field reporting exercises, and individual reporting grants.
The IWMF will select 15 journalists from each region and at least half of all participants will be women. The training will rely on the expertise of national and regional professionals. The in-country program will be led by three accomplished and recognized women trainers. The trainers include two IWMF Courage in Journalism Award Winners, Claudia Duque from Colombia (2010) and Lourdes Ramírez from Honduras (2015). Our third trainer, Marcela Turati is a highly respected investigative journalist from Mexico.
Trainer Bios
Claudia Duque is a correspondent for Radio Nizkor in Colombia. She previously worked with the news organization Colprensa, the investigative unit of Caracol, and her reporting has been published in the Washington Post, Revista Semana, El Tiempo, El Espectador and La Silla Vacía. Claudia was a lead instructor for the IWMF’s massive open online course (MOOC) on security, trauma and resilience that was held in partnership with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas in March 2018. She has prior experience as a trainer for Front Line Defenders, Free Press Unlimited, and the Federation of Colombia Journalist (Felcoper). In addition to receiving the IWMF’s Courage Award, Claudia was named one of Reporters Without Borders’ 100 Information Heroes and one of Newsweek’s 10 women journalist who risked their lives to report the truth.
Lourdes Ramírez specializes in investigative journalism and violence prevention in the Northern Triangle. She launched the digital newspaper, En Alta Voz, and previously directed the news program Café Informativo Radio in San Pedro Sula. Lourdes has also worked with Noticiero 9W as part of Radio Comayagüela, VICA Televisión and Radio Nacional de Honduras. Lourdes has been a consultant to the United Nations and non-profit organizations on human rights, human development, violence against women, democratic governance, and election monitoring. In addition to the IWMF’s Courage Award, Lourdes also received the Froylan Trucios Award from Honduras’ National Congress.
Marcela Turati is an investigative journalist who covered the height of the Mexican drug war. She previously worked with the magazine Proceso, cofounded the journalism network, Periodistas a Pie, and is a founding member of QuintoElemento. Marcela is the recipient of Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism, the Human Rights Award from the Washington Office in Latin America, and the Recognition for Excellence Award from the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Foundation for a New Ibero-American Journalism. Marcela is also a Knight Latin American Nieman Fellow at Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism. As a defender for freedom of expression, Marcela is committed to building networks for collaborative journalism and training journalists to protect themselves in one of the deadliest countries for journalism.
The IWMF is committed to helping journalists improve their ability to report safely, including their situational awareness, self-defense, and first aid skills. Under the Adelante Latin America Reporting Initiative, the IWMF has trained more than 50 local journalists in Mexico and Colombia. The three-day HEFAT training prepares journalists to mitigate possible risks and respond to medical emergencies in the field. The training includes a combination of classroom-based lessons and scenarios. Throughout 2019 and 2020, the IWMF will train journalists in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Participants will be selected through an open application process, and at least 50% of the journalists selected will be women.