Applications open for RSF Reporting Fellowships

Two media professionals, who are exposed to special difficulties and challenges due to their profession, are invited to Berlin for six months.

The fellowships provide a protected space in which the selected candidates can continue to work on and complete their journalistic project. The project should be realizable within the set time frame of six months (in image, sound, or writing) and highlight new aspects and thematic points that are of relevance for the society. The goal is to publish the project result and, if possible, present it at a public event.

Categories

• There are two RSF Reporting Fellowships:
  • The RSF Research and Recharge Fellowship is aimed at media professionals at risk who want to complete a journalistic project with a focus on climate, climate change, or environmental issues at a national, regional or global scale.
  • The RSF Digital Freedom & Safety Fellowship is particularly aimed at journalists who have been exposed to digital threats/surveillance in the past, and who plan to complete a journalistic project on a topic of their choice.

Benefits

• Visa and travel costs
• Furnished apartment in Berlin
• Travel health insurance for the six months spent in Berlin
• Psychological/psychosocial support
• Workshops (e.g. on digital safety training, stress management)
• Professional journalistic and/or personal training opportunities
• Project-related costs (e.g. printing, room rental for podcast, editing of audio-visual material, among others).

Funding Information

• Monthly grant of 1000€.

Eligible Projects

• The candidate applies with a self-selected journalistic reporting project, which:
  • Is realizable within the set time frame (in any medium, e.g. visual, sound, or writing).
  • Explores new angles and topics.

Eligibility Criteria

• At the end of the six months, the fellows return to their countries of residence.

Application Requirements

• Requirements for a successful application:
  • Several years of relevant work experience as a professional journalist.
  • Personal threat profile due to journalistic work or difficult working conditions caused by external risk factors.
  • Proven knowledge of the English language. The applicants must be able to express themselves well in a professional context.
  • A passport that is valid for at least twelve months at the time of application (or can be independently/renewed).
  • A state of health that permits longer travel and the six-month stay in the host country, as well as sufficient independence to handle everyday affairs on their own in a foreign setting.
  • Ability and willingness to return to the country of origin after the fellowship period.
  • A well-developed project outline for a journalistic project, which can be completed within a period of six months.
• Application Documents
  • Your application must include the following documents:
    • The completed and signed online application form.
    • A scan of your current passport (valid for another 12 months, or independently renewable).
    • Your curriculum vitae in tabular form (CV).
    • A letter of motivation (1-2 pages) in which you explain why you are applying for the research fellowship. Please address what specific factors threaten or complicate your personal work situation. Please write how you plan to use your stay in Berlin and how it will positively impact your future work in your home country.
    • Detailed project outline (1-2 pages).
    • Please address the following questions:
      • What topic would you like to work on and why?
      • How would you like to accomplish your chosen project?
      • What medium (e.g. photography, video, reportage, print, podcast, data journalism) would you like to use to publish the project and why?
      • Why are you concerned with the topic, and what is the relevance of the project at this moment?
      • Who is your intended audience, and why?
      • What is the current status of your project (schedule, milestones)?
      • Do you have a distribution plan or specific commitments from publishers?
      • How would you like to use the six months in Berlin specifically for your project?

For more information, visit Reporters Without Borders.