Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship Begins at United Nations Headquarters, with 15 Participants in 2017 Programme
The Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship began at United Nations Headquarters in New York this week and will continue through 30 September.
Organized by the Department of Public Information for the last 37 years, the three-week programme brings together 15 young journalists representing media organizations from developing countries and those with economies in transition. The 2017 fellows — eight women and seven men working in print, broadcast and online media — are from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, India, Iran, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa and Ukraine.
The Fellowship was established in 1980 by the ninety-seventh General Assembly with the aim of developing opportunities to acquaint junior and mid-level journalists with the work of the United Nations. Formerly known as the Department of Public Information Training Programme for Broadcasters and Journalists from Developing Countries, it was renamed in honour of Reham al-Farra, a young Jordanian public information officer killed in the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. Since its inception in 1981, 566 journalists and broadcasters from 168 countries have taken part in the Fellowship.
During their time at Headquarters, the fellows will attend briefings by United Nations officials on major issues to be addressed during the seventy-second session of the General Assembly. They will have the opportunity to meet with Permanent Representatives to the United Nations and cover the general debate of the seventy-second session. The fellows will also visit news organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations in New York City to familiarize themselves with their operations and activities.
Below is the full list of participants in the 2017 Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship programme. For full biographies, please visit http://outreach.un.org/raf/2017-Fellows.
- Tais Gadea Lara, Argentina, Print/Web
- Luiza Muzzi Almeida, Brazil, Print/Web
- Melisa Jaimes Ochoa, Colombia, Print/Web/Radio
- Mariela Mejía, Dominican Republic, Print/Web
- Basant Rabie, Egypt, Print/Web
- Andrei Jupalakiani, Georgia, TV
- Gabriel Obodai Torgbor-Ashong, Ghana, TV
- Devjyot Ghoshal, India, Print/Web
- Fatemeh Jamalpour, Iran, Print/Web
- Juan Luis Garcia Hernandez, Mexico, Print/Web
- Phanindra Dahal, Nepal, Print/Web/Radio
- Zoya Anwer, Pakistan, Print/Web
- Michael Jobert Navallo, Philippines, TV
- Bianca Capazorio, South Africa, Print/Web
- Andrii Suslenko, Ukraine, TV
For further information or to get in touch with the fellows, please contact Bayann Hamid, Associate Public Information Officer, at email: bayann.hamid@un.org; tel.: +1 212 963 9415.