The Bernard van Leer Foundation invites journalists interested in covering stories about children to apply for the Oscar van Leer Fellowships for professional training. The fellowship consists of a four-week, expenses-paid training course in The Netherlands covering journalism and children's issues.

Three fellowships will be awarded. The fellowships are open to journalists in nine regions where the foundation currently funds projects for disadvantaged young children: Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, the Caribbean, and the Indian region of Orissa. Applicants can work in any form of media, including print, radio, television, or web.

Through the Oscar van Leer Fellowships, the Bernard van Leer Foundation aims to contribute to a gradual improvement in the quality and quantity of media coverage of issues affecting young children. By training journalists in how best to cover stories to do with early childhood development and children’s rights, they seek to improve society’s understanding and influence decision makers.

To access suggested reading for applicants, please click here.

Click here for more information.

Email from Angela Barrau-Ernst to Soul Beat Africa on April 8 2009.