Breaking Down Barriers to Health Services in South-East Asia

This June, Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) and the Global Fund are launching a new dual track training course for journalists and civil society organisations (CSOs) based in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines – Breaking Down Barriers to Health Services in South-East Asia. The five-day in-person course is the first of a series of engagement opportunities provided through the programme, which will support journalists to report on human rights-related barriers to health services with accuracy and authority, and simultaneously support CSOs to raise awareness of their work to remove these barriers through enhanced communication and media engagement skills.

The initial 5-day course will be delivered through TRF’s Dual Track approach; journalists and representatives of CSOs will take part in simultaneous training courses (tracks) led by the leading team of trainers. At strategic moments during the five days, and through subsequent programme engagements, the two tracks will come together for joint sessions to facilitate mutual learning and networking. This approach has proven highly successful in strengthening collaboration between the media and civil society.

This new programme offers long-term, targeted support to young journalists and young civil society leaders to drive real change in attitudes, practices, and policy. Programme participants will have the opportunity to progress through the following programme stages:

• Onboarding onto the programme through one-to-one conversations with TRF and/or Global Fund staff.
• Participation in TRF’s innovative dual-track training course in Bangkok, Thailand, 10-14th June 2024.
• The opportunity to access direct one-to-one mentorship. For journalists this will involve working directly with a TRF mentor to develop and publish (or broadcast) an original journalistic work. For CSOs this will involve working directly with a TRF mentor to pursue an agreed communications objective. Places on the mentoring scheme will be awarded through a competitive proposal review process, and proposals must focus on the topic of human rights and health services. Small grants will be awarded to applicants whose proposals are successful.
• The opportunity to access legal support. For journalists, legal support will be made available through the Legal Network for Journalists at Risk (LNJAR) platform. For CSOs support will be available through signing up to TRF’s TrustLaw network – the world’s largest pro-bono legal service. Through TrustLaw, TRF will support CSOs to harness the pro bono expertise of lawyers in the TrustLaw network to support research and capacity-building needs.
• Participation in an alumni network of young journalists and young activists. Alumni will have opportunities to come together at key milestones over the 2.5 years of the wider programme (2024-2026). These opportunities will include alumni events and days of particular relevance, such as World AIDS Day.
• Access further support opportunities – be it further training, TrustLaw support, or one-to-one mentorship opportunities

The Dual-Track Training Course

• Participation in the Dual-Track Training course is the second stage of the programme, and requires your participation in-person from 10th to 14th June 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Training Course Format:
  • Course Dates: Monday 10th – Friday 14th June 2024 (in person)
  • Course Location: Bangkok, Thailand
• The five-day course will be delivered through a blend of in-person modules, practical group work, guest sessions with subject-matter experts, exercises and individual assignments.
• The journalism and CSO training tracks will proceed in separate training rooms, with joint sessions built into the agenda to bring the two tracks together. These joint sessions will offer opportunities for practicing skills with professional peers, learning more about one another’s work, and networking.
• The training will be run in English.
• Journalist participants are also strongly encouraged to come with a story idea that they can develop as the course proceeds.
• Journalist participants will have the opportunity to interview their CSO counterparts in practical joint exercises.
• Following the course, journalist participants will have an opportunity to pitch a story idea to be selected for TRF’s mentoring scheme. The scheme will provide successful participants with a story grant and one-to-one mentoring with a TRF trainer to support the development and publication of the story.

Training Course Principles

• The course is designed to be practical and interactive, and participants will work on real-world issues they face in their work, as well as hypothetical scenarios. Although trainer-led, participants will be expected to contribute to discussions, and to share insights from their own experience. Participant assignments as part of the course will be reviewed and discussed by the group as a whole and the TRF training team.
• They emphasise that the training space is a safe environment, and that respect and fairness are crucial.
• TRF and the Global Fund expect:
  • Participants to provide respectful, constructive, and meaningful contributions during and after the course.
  • Journalists and civil society participants to forge networks and identify issues for appropriate reporting and content generation.
  • All participants to engage with one another, share knowledge and experience of their work and examples of how they may have overcome challenges.
  • Ongoing and active engagement in activities as described above.
• Participants should expect to abide by the above principles throughout their engagement in both the training course and the longer-term programme.

Expected Programme Outcomes

• Through the initial training course and subsequent engagement in the 2024-2025 programme participants will build their skills in journalism and communication. On completion of the programme, participants are expected to have greater understanding of best practices, and increased confidence and motivation with regards reporting or communicating on human rights issues relating to health services. Participants will also understand how to access legal support through the TRF TrustLaw network.
• Journalists are expected to have acquired the tools and know-how to report confidently and convincingly on human rights related barriers to health services and why the topic is important. They will also be able to articulate solutions to overcoming these barriers – particularly for marginalised and vulnerable groups – and better understand the work undertaken by their CSO counterparts. Crucially, journalists will understand the Reuters Principles of journalism, the importance of accuracy and fairness in media reporting on the human rights of marginalised people, and how to engage meaningfully with those from civil society operating in this space.
• The longer-term programme will provide course alumni with opportunities to engage in follow-up activities, including joint sessions to foster journalist-CSO interaction. TRF and the Global Fund see this long-term approach as fundamental to fostering a productive network of CSOs and journalists equipped with the tools and knowledge to explain how efforts to reduce human rights-related barriers to health services must be an integral part of efforts to improve the health of everyone in society.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible to participate in this programme journalist applicants must be:
  • Full-time journalists or active regular contributors to a media publication or social media platform.
  • Working and publishing (or broadcasting) in the Philippines, Thailand or Indonesia.
  • Able to demonstrate at least three years of professional experience, whether working as a journalist for a media organisation, creating content for a social media platform, or another form of journalistic activity.
  • Experienced in reporting on human rights and/or public health issues, or able to show a demonstrable interest in such reporting.
  • 30 years of age or younger at the time of applying.
  • Able to publish an original piece of journalism on the theme of human rights and access to health services.
  • Fluent in English.
  • Hold a valid passport and be able to travel to Bangkok, Thailand, for the course dates shown.

For more information, visit TRF.