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Mekong Thought Leadership and Think Tanks Network Program (MTT), hosted by SEI Asia, is providing six media-research collaboration fellowships (media fellowships) to selected journalists in the Mekong Region. Click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.
Opportunity Details
The media fellowship aims to produce and publish impactful stories highlighting critical environmental sustainability issues related to the MTT program’s research activities. The media fellowships aim to support MTT’s granted projects in the Mekong Region (four flagship studies and seven rapid response projects) to better communicate our science to the public for enhanced visibility and policy impacts.
Media-Research Collaboration Fellowship
The media-research collaboration fellowship seeks to enable collaboration and close interactions between MTT’s knowledge-based policy influence organizations (KBPIOs) that focus on generating or using the evidence to inform the policy and practice (e.g., think tanks, researchers, and practitioners) and those that influence the changes in society through the public (e.g., Mekong-based journalists).
Researchers from the KBPIOs can help the media fellows to better access and understand the inclusive knowledge co-production processes and their results. In exchange, the media fellows will guide the MTT researchers in crafting communications that resonate with non-academic audiences while conveying the importance of the scientific findings.
This way, both sides benefit and help each other equally, building a strong media-research collaboration. (Please see the previous examples of their media-research partnership here.)
Six fellowships worth up to AUD 5,000 (~ USD 3,300) will be awarded to selected applicants. Applicants must be citizens of or based in the countries of the Mekong Region (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam). We encourage early-career media professionals to take advantage of this opportunity.
Early-career candidates from diverse genders, indigenous groups, people with diverse ethnicities, and persons with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply.
*Both freelance and staff journalists can apply. Freelance journalists are encouraged to provide a supporting letter of intent from an outlet or organization that will disseminate their work.
** The MTT Secretariat reserves the right to maintain a balanced portfolio of media fellowships considering required support of MTT’s program activities including granted projects, which may involve considering the countries of origin and gender diversity of the media fellows.
All applications will be handled with strict confidentiality.
Selection criteria
Knowledge exchange collaboration: Applicants must demonstrate their willingness to exchange knowledge and build partnerships with the research teams. This fellowship is designed so that journalists can play an essential role in enhancing researchers’ capability in communicating their research to the general public.
Relevance: The story proposal must relate to one or more of the MTT projects here. The proposal must explain why the chosen topic is relevant to environmental issues in the applicant’s country or in the Mekong Region as a whole.
Angle: If the central topic has already been addressed by the media, the story should focus on a new worthwhile aspect of the environmental issues. Journalists are encouraged to report on these issues with a science or policy lens.
Impact: The story must inform, encourage discourse, and urge policy action and reach the wider public.
Feasibility: All facets of the story proposal must be realistic and achievable within the given timeline.
Diversity: The story proposal should include as much gender, ethnic, linguistic, geographic, and cultural diversity as possible.
The following information must be uploaded as part of the application:
Required:
• A recent Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• A brief proposal of no more than 500 words for the article or multimedia
product, choosing one (or more than one, if cross-cutting) of the MTT projects. The proposal should outline the key aspects of the story or product and their relevance to the chosen area of MTT project work.
Optional:
• A reference letter from a regional media institution or news outlet
• Sample or portfolio of work
Knowledge exchange collaboration: Applicants must demonstrate their willingness to exchange and share knowledge and build this partnership with the MTT program and research teams through this opportunity.
Apply for Media-Research Collaboration Fellowship for Environmental Reporting