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AAAS Fellowships for Reporters from Developing Regions

General Program Information

Fellowships to support promising young science reporters from developing regions of the world were first established by AAAS thanks to a generous seed grant from the William T. Golden Endowment Fund for Program Innovation.

During its first year, the program brought 10 young Chinese reporters, as well as one from South Africa, and another from Brazil to cover the 2004 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington.

A second year of the program — administered by AAAS and its editorially independent Web site for reporters, EurekAlert! — was made possible through the generosity of The Global Alliance for Vaccines & Immunization (GAVI), The Vaccine Fund and the Rotavirus Vaccine Program (RVP), an affiliate of PATH. Reporters from Africa participated in the 2005 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Three outstanding young science reporters from Mexico, Chile and Brazil have been selected to receive fellowships to attend and report on the 2006 AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. Check back for further details. The 2006 fellowships are being funded by EurekAlert!, in cooperation with AAAS.

The 2006 winners will be celebrated during a special press party at The Orpheum Theater in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, 18 February, from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. This event is open only to those wearing the 2006 AAAS Annual Meeting press badge. The event is being co-hosted by the International Science Writers Association and the World Federation of Science Journalists. Those eligible for press registration to the Annual Meeting are urged to register in advance.

2004 Program

Ten outstanding young Chinese reporters received the first ever AAAS Fellowships for Reporters in Developing Regions:

Li Hujun, Freelancer (Sina.com and Nanfang Zhoumo)
Yimin Ding, China Features
Xinyu Zhou, China Youth Daily
Yan Liang, Xinhua News
Lei Du, Freelancer (Nanfang Zhoumo)
He Sheng, China Daily
Yan Yan, Reuters TV Beijing
Liu Li, Science and Technology Daily
Zhang Bin, Jiefang Daily Group
Lu Yi (Luo Yanning), Lifeweek

Winning entries chronicled researchers' frantic efforts to combat the SARS virus; the return of talented, established Chinese scientists to the mainland; Chinese stem-cell research; nanotechnology advances; and more. Reports by the winning Fellowship recipients were disseminated by such diverse media outlets as Reuters Television of Beijing; Nanfang Zhoumo; China Youth Daily; and Xinhua News, among others.

“The 10 winning Fellowship recipients represent a strong balance of national and regional media outlets, as well as broadcast, print, online, trade and mainstream media outlets, and thus, truly reflect science journalism throughout China as a whole,” said Shere Abbott, AAAS's Chief International Officer. “Through this new program, AAAS seeks to encourage the accomplishments of promising young journalists who are accurately conveying scientific issues of critical importance to the public — from sustainable development to vaccine research.”

“We were surprised and delighted by the high quality of submissions received in the first year of this program,” said AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner, executive publisher of the journal, Science. “Selecting 10 finalists proved challenging because all of the submissions showed merit, and each of the applicants should feel tremendously encouraged by their accomplishments within the field of science journalism. The level of participation in this new Fellowship program speaks volumes about Chinese journalists’ level of dedication and commitment to their craft. We were honored by the participation of many outstanding young reporters.”

“The emergence of China as a major scientific and technical force suggests that the country has the potential to become the world's largest market for science news,” said James Cornell, president of the International Science Writers Association.

“This rapid social development underlines the need for a cadre of trained, informed and independent journalists who can interpret the results of research, track the impact of new technologies and represent the public interest,” said ISWA's Cornell, an advisor to the program, along with the National Association of Science Writers and the AAAS Committee on Public Understanding of Science and Technology. “Ideally, the AAAS Fellows, by sharing the experiences of their non-Chinese counterparts in the stimulating and dynamic environment of the annual meeting in Seattle, will find new and innovative ways for communicating science and technology when they return home.”

The Fellowships competition was open this year to young Chinese reporters submitting original print or broadcast stories on science or technology issues. Winners were invited to attend and cover the 2004 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, with room, lodging and meal costs covered by AAAS. Their coverage of the Meeting was published in a new multi-language portal on EurekAlert!.

Judging the 2004 year entries were:

  • Anthony Kuhn, reporter for Newsweek’s Beijing Bureau;
  • Benjamin Read, assistant professor within the Department of Political Science at the University of Iowa;
  • and Tai Zixue, a member of the communication faculty at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Much additional advice and encouragement for the program was provided by numerous individuals and organizations. “We’re deeply grateful to everyone who sent a tip, explained Chinese journalism conventions to us, or helped us to recruit submissions,” Leshner said.

2005 Program

The winners of the 2005 Fellowships for Reporters from Africa were:

  • Celeste Tema, South African Broadcasting Corporation
    Tema has worked as a radio reporter for the past seven years, and has specialized in science for the past two years. Her stories are translated into South Africa's eleven official languages and broadcast throughout the country.

  • Mzati Nkolokosa, The Nation, Malawi
    Nkolokosa, who has three years of experience as a reporter, aspires to specialize in health reporting, especially in the area of HIV/AIDS. He cites “lack of resources and training” as one of the greatest challenges to his career.

  • Zablon Odhiambro, Biosafety News, Kenya
    Odhiambro, who has been working as a science reporter for the past five years, hopes that he can help to “alleviate global problems” by responsibly reporting science and technology developments throughout Africa.

  • Nurat Miquidade, Radio Mozambique
    Miquidade has worked as a radio reporter for nine years. Her stories are broadcast in Portuguese throughout Mozambique.

  • Pape Sambe Boubacar, Jeune Afrique Economie, Senegal
    Boubacar writes for the French-language magazine Jeune Afrique Economie, where he covers science and health, among other topics.

The winners received support to travel to Washington, DC, from 17 February until 21 February, to report and train at the 2005 AAAS Annual Meeting, America’s largest general science conference. The winners’ coverage of the 2005 AAAS Annual Meeting was posted to EurekAlert!'s multi-language portal.

Airfare, hotel costs, meals and other travel expenses were fully covered by the AAAS fellowships, sponsored by GAVI, PATH and The Vaccine Fund. Some 1,200 press registrants from around the world covered the AAAS Meeting.

Sponsor This Program

A seed grant from the William T. Golden Endowment Fund for Program Innovation made it possible for AAAS to launch this program, which provides networking opportunities and travel funds for science reporters from regions where they may otherwise receive little support.

In 2005, The Global Alliance for Vaccines & Immunization (GAVI), The Vaccine Fund and the Rotavirus Vaccine Program (RVP), an affiliate of PATH, supported a second year of the program. EurekAlert!, in conjunction with AAAS, is sponsoring the 2006 program.

AAAS is currently seeking a four-year commitment to support 10 fellowship recipients per year, but we also welcome offers of support for one or more recipients per year.

For further details, including inspiring testimonials from fellowship recipients, please contact Ginger Pinholster in the AAAS Office of Public Programs, via email or telephone at (202) 326-6421.


 





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