Apply for the Inaugural Mongabay Africa Environmental Reporting Fellowship

In an era when environmental degradation is increasingly apparent, the role of quality environmental journalism cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, the evolution of business models in media has resulted in limited opportunities for budding journalists, particularly in regions heavily impacted by climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and threats to Indigenous communities and oceans.

In response to this situation, Mongabay Africa has established the Environmental Reporting Fellowship in French for journalism on the continent. This is an exceptional opportunity for budding environmental journalists from biodiversity hotspots in tropical countries in Africa. Fellows gain valuable training, experience and credibility to help them advance their careers in journalism and communications. Ultimately, they aim for fellows to join their growing global network as regular Mongabay contributors.

Goals and Opportunities

• The Mongabay Africa Environmental Reporting Fellowship addresses these challenges head-on. It aims to provide journalists from biodiversity-rich African countries with the chance to report on critical environmental issues. This program is not just about reporting; it offers comprehensive training, experience, and credibility, which are crucial for advancing careers in journalism and communications.

The scholarship program

• In addition to its English- and Spanish-speaking fellowship programs, Mongabay Africa’s French-speaking fellowship program for environmental journalism supports up to 12 fellows per year. Each cohort will consist of six fellows from various countries.
• Under the supervision of editors-in-chief, fellows will gain valuable experience in their international news organization. There they will develop their skills in environmental reporting and create a portfolio of original publications, intended to help them in their career development.

Funding Information

• Each scholar receives $500 USD per month during the 3 months of the program, for a total of $1,500 USD. He will work closely with the editor-in-chief of scholarship programs as well as other journalists in the editorial office to produce a total of three reports.
• Each fellow thus undertakes to work 10 hours per week to produce an average of one report per month. His productions are intended to be published on the Mongabay site.
• Work is done remotely – Mongabay does not have an office and cannot provide work visas.

Required Qualifications

• Understanding of the basics of reporting and interest in writing news articles
• Interest in nature conservation issues
• Aspire to a career as an environmental journalist
• Proven information and writing skills
• Ability to meet scholarship program planning requirements
• Any affinity towards multimedia content will be carefully considered

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must aspire to pursue a career as an environmental journalist
• Applicants must be able to work remotely with a good internet connection and webcam, and commit to a total of 10 hours of work per week.
• For this first cohort, candidates must reside in one of the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger or Togo.
• No level of education is required to apply. This scholarship program is not linked to any university.
• All application documents must be submitted in the appropriate language (French for the French-speaking program).
• All documents must comply with the guidelines below or risk disqualification.

For more information, visit Mongabay.