Tuesday, February 28, 2006

APPLICATIONS INVITED FOR U.N. JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS

The Dag Hammarskjold Memorial Scholarship Fund announced today that it is accepting applications for its 2006 Dag Hammarskjold Fellowships, which will be awarded to four journalists from developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

The application deadline is Monday, April 17. Final selection of the 2006 Fellows will be made in May. The 2006 Fellowships will begin in early September and extend until early November.
The two-month program will provide recipients an opportunity to cover the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, meet with leading international experts and diplomats, and to increase their understanding of diplomatic decision-making. The Fellowship includes airfare, hotel accommodations and per diem expenses.

Three of the Fellows selected will be young journalists, aged 25-35. For the first time, the Fund will also sponsor a fellowship for a mid-career distinguished journalist, age 35-45 with 10-15 years professional journalism experience, who is interested in foreign policy and diplomacy, and who will develop an in-depth project on a U.N.-related topic during the fellowship.

Raghida Dergham, Chair of the Dag Hammarskjold Memorial Scholarship Fund, said, "This fellowship program is about providing a unique opportunity for exceptional journalists to cover international affairs from the United Nations."

Dergham, who is also the senior diplomatic correspondent and columnist for Al Hayat/LBC added, "Coming to New York is a milestone in the lives of promising journalists interested in the UN and in international relations. And this is exactly what our mission is all about: a window to a milestone in the life of a journalist from the developing world."
Over its 45-year history, the Memorial Scholarship Fund has awarded fellowships to more than 150 journalists from 75 countries; many of them have risen to prominence in their professions. In 2005, the Fund awarded four fellowships to journalists from Ethiopia, Lebanon, the Maldives, and Nepal.
The Dag Hammarskjold Fellowship Program was established in 1961 in memory of the late Secretary-General who was killed in an airplane crash while on a peace mission. "His wisdom and his modesty, his unimpeachable integrity and single-minded devotion to duty, have set a standard for all servants of the international community," said Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Application information and full details regarding the Fellowship Program can be found at www.unjournalismfellowship.org. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@unjournalismfellowship.org.

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