Established in 1961 as a not-for-profit organisation by United Nations (UN) journalists to honour the spirit and accomplishments of the second Secretary General, the Dag Hammarskjöld Scholarship Fund awards fellowships to mid-career journalists. The fellowships are available to radio, television, print, and web journalists, aged 25 to 35, from developing countries who are interested in coming to New York, NY, United States (US), to report on international affairs during the current session of the UN General Assembly. The fellowships will begin in mid-September and extend to late November and will include the cost of travel and accommodations in New York, as well as a per diem allowance.

The Fund’s Fellowship Program for Journalists provides an opportunity for the selected journalists to expand their knowledge of foreign policy and diplomacy. The Fellowship Program thereby serves to maintain and expand the vital partnership between the UN and the media, a partnership that serves to promote human rights, freedom, and development wherever in the world such changes are being resisted.

The Fellowship Program is open to journalists who are native to one of the developing countries of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, or South America and are currently working full-time for a bona fide media organisation in a developing nation. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in and commitment to international affairs and to conveying a better understanding of the UN to their readers and audiences. They must also have approval from their media organisations to spend up to two months in the US to report from the UN.

NOTE: Because of the large number of applications received last year, the Fund will not consider applications for 2010 from nations selected in 2009: Egypt, Ghana, Pakistan, and the Philipines. Journalists from these countries may apply in 2011.

Click here for more information.

Click here to read about previous Fellows.

Panos website, March 9 2010.