Environmental degradation through wildlife, forestry and other environmental crimes is one of our country’s most pressing concerns. The deterioration of the natural environment is being caused by human activities including deforestation, air and water pollution, soil erosion, illegal wildlife trade and climate change. These activities have catastrophic effects on biodiversity, human health and livelihoods. High-quality environmental journalism is vital to raise awareness, to change behaviour, to hold perpetrators and institutions to account.
In response, WCP Zambia has established the Environmental Crime Journalism Fellowship. The fellowship will allow young media professionals in Zambia to delve into our country’s environmental and climate reporting landscape. Fellows will gain insight into Zambia’s conservation challenges and the work being done by conservation partners to restore ecosystems to good health.
Participants will receive hands-on experience through in-person field visits and meetings with renowned sector experts. They will have the opportunity to learn basic science, environmental research and reporting skills from experienced international environmental journalists. They will be given the opportunity to flex this new knowledge and skills through opportunities to publish environmental articles in national and international publications.
The fellowship is facilitated by WCP Zambia financed by GIZ as commissioned by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Media Fellowship aims to:
Encourage well-researched reporting environmental and conservation reporting.
Leverage powerful storytelling, both in visual and non-visual formats, to build public awareness and engagement.
Support regional and local media journalists.
Highlight or expose critical environmental crime and conservation issues in Zambia.
Improve the availability of credible and diverse narratives.
Improve the media spaces to make them more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible.
Improve access to skills development for high-quality and responsible journalism.
Duration
The fellowship will run for a year, starting on 1 May 2023 to 1 May 2024. The application window for the first cohort is 10 March – 10 April 2023. Successful participants will be notified by 17 April 2023.
The ECJ Fellowship will support up to 10 fellows per year. Each fellow is expected to produce an average of one story per month over the course of the fellowship to be published on various media platforms.
Applicants must be able to work remotely and commit to scheduled activities according to the calendar.
Criteria
This fellowship is open to journalists who are passionate about reporting on environmental issues and meet the criteria below:
Media professionals such as journalists, bloggers, vloggers and other content creators
Minimum of 2 years of work experience
Experience in published news on social/development issues
Able to commit to 12 months of engagement.
Approval letter from the respective organisation’s Senior Editor or Head of News if affiliated with a media organisation
Applicants must attach links/copies to published articles on social/development issues (minimum of 5 links)
