ICFJ-United Nations Foundation Reporting Fellowship

Application Deadline: September 21

Nigerian journalists are invited to apply for a reporting fellowship aimed at improved coverage of migration due to conflict or instability and the resulting impact on climate and economic prospects.

The program focuses on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 10 and 13, which aim to “reduce inequality within and among countries” and “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” by 2030.

The ICFJ-United Nations Foundation Reporting Fellowship will give up to 40 journalists access to global experts and policymakers who focus on issues related to migration and climate. The Fellowship offers virtual workshops, an on-the-ground study tour in Nigeria and reporting grants to cover climate and migration issues.

Ahead of COP 23, the fellows will participate in virtual briefings and roundtable discussions with U.N. experts and journalism trainers. During this online course, October 10-13, participants will learn about new data and storytelling strategies to help them cover these critically important issues. After the course, the fellows will produce one to two in-depth, contextual stories related to the sustainable development goals.

Based on the stories produced through the course, 15-20 journalists will be chosen to attend further hands-on training sessions in Lagos. The trainings will be led by local and international experts on climate and migration. ICFJ will cover all transportation costs, hotel and meal expenses for the fellows.

Fellowship criteria:

• Applicants must live and work in Nigeria
• Full-time Nigeria-based journalists and/or freelancers working for domestic or international news outlets are eligible (print, online, and/or broadcast)
• Applicants must be fluent in English

The program is divided into three parts:

• An online workshop on covering SDGs, with a focus on climate and migration. Following the workshop, participants will have three weeks to produce stories for publication or broadcast in their media outlets, based on the training and mentoring received in the online workshop.
• A three-day workshop in Nigeria in late November led by award-winning science and environmental journalists. Up to 20 participants from the online course will work with experts on climate and migration, data journalism and visualizations.
• At the end of the study tour, participants will receive small reporting grants to produce in-depth stories on SDGs, climate and migration. The top three stories from this group will receive grants of up to $1,000 to continue their coverage.