The NileWell Scientist-Journalist Co-Production Fellowship Program for 2024

The NileWell Scientist-Journalist Co-Production Fellowship Program for 2024 is now accepting applications.

Journalists and scientists in the Nile Basin countries (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Egypt, DRC, Sudan, and South Sudan) are encouraged to apply to InfoNile through the NileWell platform for a fellowship program that will run from June 2024 to March 2025. The program will involve training, mentorship, and coproduction of communication outputs based on scientific research.

InfoNile is the one organizing this fellowship. A transnational team of geojournalists called InfoNile uses data-driven multimedia storytelling to unearth important stories about water-related problems in the Nile River Basin. The largest network of journalists covering water on the African continent, Water Journalists Africa, is the organization behind InfoNile.

This program is through the NileWell platform. NileWell is InfoNile’s new online platform whose main objective is to  connect journalists and scientists in the Nile Basin. The program is being run in partnership with the Nile Basin Capacity Building Network Foundation and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, with funding from JRS Biodiversity Foundation and IHE Delft’s Water and Development Partnership Programme.

The co-production fellowship program seeks to improve the communication between the scientific community, the media,and audiences in the Nile Basin, including local communities, individuals and organizations working in the fields of water and environmental conservation, as well as policymakers.

Eligibility:

• Professional journalists with an interest in reporting on water and the environment
• Scientists and researchers from different disciplines working on topics related to water and/or the environment such as climate change; biodiversity; water quality; water infrastructure; hydrology.

Program Details

• 16 participants (8 journalists and 8 scientists) will be selected and trained on biodiversity reporting, transboundary water resources reporting, science journalism, science communication, and data journalism during the fellowship program.
• This program will entail an inception in-person residential training workshop for both scientists and journalists on how to work together effectively; follow-up online training and mentorship sessions on specific topics; collaborative projects between scientists and journalists to produce communication outputs; and events that bring scientists and journalists together to showcase their work with the general public.
• During the program, participants will then co-produce communication outputs based on the scientists’ research such as stories, podcasts, Twitter threads, blog posts, short videos, MoJo videos and others.

Application:

Submit your application by completing the form

Please note you will need to prepare:

• Your CV
• Information/links to the research you plan to communicate (if you are a scientist)
• Related research studies you have done in the past (if you are a scientist)
• Links to any scientific communication you have produced in the past, such as science stories, blog posts or social media posts especially on water and environmental topics(if you are a journalist)

Click here to apply