Call for Applications: NileWell Scientist-Journalist Co-Production Fellowship Program 2024

This fellowship is organized by InfoNile, a cross-border group of geo journalists with a mission to uncover critical stories on water issues in the Nile River Basin through data-based multimedia storytelling. InfoNile is a project of Water Journalists Africa, the largest network of journalists reporting on water in the African continent.

This program is through the NileWell platform. NileWell is InfoNile’s new online platform whose main objective is to connect journalists and scientists in the Nile Basin. The program is being run in partnership with the Nile Basin Capacity Building Network Foundation and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, with funding from JRS Biodiversity Foundation and IHE Delft’s Water and Development Partnership Programme.

The co-production fellowship program seeks to improve the communication between the scientific community, the media, and audiences in the Nile Basin, including local communities, individuals and organizations working in the fields of water, environmental conservation, and policymakers.

This program also aims to facilitate collaboration between scientists and journalists working in or around water and environment-related fields to enhance the media’s understanding of science and research. By partnering with each other, scientists and journalists will work together to make science more accessible, understandable, and engaging to each other and the public.

Funding Information

• The total grant amount for this opportunity is $800.

Workshop

• 16 participants (8 journalists and 8 scientists) will be selected and trained in biodiversity reporting, transboundary water resources reporting, science journalism, science communication, and data journalism during the fellowship program.
• This program will entail an inception in-person residential training workshop for both scientists and journalists on how to work together effectively; follow-up online training and mentorship sessions on specific topics; collaborative projects between scientists and journalists to produce communication outputs; and events that bring scientists and journalists together to showcase their work with the general public.
• During the program, participants will then co-produce communication outputs based on the scientists’ research such as stories, podcasts, Twitter threads, blog posts, short videos, MoJo videos and others.

Eligibility Criteria

• Journalists with an interest in water and the environment; and scientists and researchers from different disciplines working on topics related to water and/or the environment, such as climate change; biodiversity; water quality; water infrastructure, and hydrology in the Nile Basin countries are invited to apply for this program running from June 2024 to March 2025.
• Professional journalists with an interest in reporting on water and the environment.
• Scientists and researchers from different disciplines working on topics related to water and/or the environment such as climate change; biodiversity; water quality; water infrastructure; and hydrology.
• They particularly encourage early-stage career water and environment journalists and researchers to apply for this fellowship.

For more information, visit InfoNile.