Deadline: 31-Jan-22
The Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) has launched the 2022-23 Gordon N. Fisher/JHR Journalism Fellowship for a journalist from Sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East to participate in the William Southam Journalism Fellowship Program at Massey College in the University of Toronto.
The Fisher Fellowship runs in tandem with the William Southam Journalism Fellowships and takes place over one academic year – September to May – at the University of Toronto.
Fellows are able to choose from a wide range of university courses and activities, are free to audit any graduate or undergraduate courses and have access to the University’s many facilities. Fellows live at Massey College, a multi-disciplinary graduate residential college in the University of Toronto. There are no educational prerequisites for a Fellowship, nor do Fellows receive credits or degrees for work done during the academic year.
The program typically requires auditing at least two academic courses a semester; one academic course must be taken in full and all assignments completed.
The Fisher / JHR Fellow meets regularly with his or her Canadian counterparts in informal seminars to discuss issues with speakers from a wide variety of professions. They also participate in full in any trips organized as part of the program.
To obtain the maximum benefit from the program, Fellows agree to refrain from professional work, including writing and broadcasting, during the period of the Fellowship. Personal holidays are restricted to University holiday periods.
Applicants should note that the University of Toronto, St. George campus, does not offer courses in Journalism.
The Fellowship underwrites:
- an eight-m onth stipend that will replicate the successful applicant’s salary along with any costs associated with the
- program. The first monthly installment will begin with an end-September payment and conclude with the
- end-April payment;
- all university fees;
- travel expenses up to the cost of economy airfare to and from Toronto for the Fellow;
- travel expenses for organized trips during the program;
- a winter clothing allowance;
- a book allow ance.
Eligibility Criteria
- 5 years’ experience working in media
- Currently full-time as a news or editorial employee at a newspaper, radio station, television station, magazine or news service. Freelance journalists who have been working consistently in the media over an eight-year period will also be considered
- Proficiency in English
- Three letters of reference
- Statement of intention
- Proposal for plan of study
For more information, visit https://jhr.ca/get-involved/2022-2023-gordon-n-fisher-jhr-journalism-fellowship
This is a good program for African journalists working in Africa, particularly Nigeria, where there’s dearth of such opportunities. I hope it will be extended to those of us who have practised Journalism for decades.