BIRN Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence

They are awarding 10 fellowships to journalists from Central and South-Eastern Europe who have an idea for a story that needs dedicated on-the-ground reporting, in-depth research, generous funding and sustained editorial attention to do it justice.

Applications are solicited under this year’s theme, Voices. Successful applicants will be selected by an independent committee to take part in the annual programme for professional development, culminating in the production of a compelling long-form story to be published by BIRN, its media partners and/or the media outlets from the region.

What does the fellowship offer?

• The chance to improve your reporting skills by working in close collaboration with world-class editors
• Ongoing mentoring and support from BIRN’s leading regional journalistic network, present in 14 countries of the Central and SEE region
• Fellowship bursary of €3,000
• An introductory seminar focused on reporting and storytelling techniques
• Regular intensive editing sessions with the programme editor
• Final event and the award ceremony
• Worldwide publication of reports in local languages and English
• Membership of Fellowship alumni network, designed to support continued cooperation and networking between fellows who have participated in the programme since 2007
• The Fellowship is itself an award, given to 10 journalists every year. In addition to this, awards are given to the three best stories at the end of the programme. The author of the top prize-winning story shall receive €3,000, the second €2,000 and the third €1,000. Winning articles will be selected by members of the Selection Committee, based on transparent evaluation criteria. Selection Committee members will judge the original, unedited, versions of articles submitted by the Fellows.

Eligibility Criteria

• Journalists from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia with demonstrable professional experience are eligible to apply.
• Applicants should have citizenship or permanent residence of one of the countries covered by the programme.
• They provide editorial support in English, so applicants should be proficient in English (speaking, reading and comprehension), although they may produce their stories in local languages.
• Fellows must be able to dedicate adequate time to the Fellowship, in terms of research, reporting trips, attending seminars, writing and revising drafts and participating in editorial sessions.

For more information, visit BIRN.