The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Without Borders Media Fellowship program accepts applications from all countries for 2023. MSF supports journalists of all nationalities and diverse backgrounds to apply for this opportunity. Applicants who are professional reporters, photographers, television/video journalists, and radio/audio journalists working in print, television, and online media like YouTube can apply for this opportunity. Also, freelancers in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Pakistan are eligible to apply.

Without Borders Media Fellowship’s primary aim is to encourage cross-border reporting. Through scientific storytelling, the program intends to draw attention to emerging humanitarian aid and public health crises. By participating in this program, fellows will start working on their field-relevant projects and have close contact with mentors. Their mentors will be experts and thought leaders in journalism and public health, plus medical and operations specialists from the MSF movement.

Heart crisis stories will encourage dialogue on humanitarian values. MSF seeks journalists, newsrooms, photographers, and filmmakers to work together, build practicing communities, and help humanitarian actors better understand crises and contexts while working with compassion.

MSF welcomes applications and reporting proposals that can:

• Advance public understanding of health policy
• Human-interest stories focusing on health inequity and challenges to accessing healthcare.
• Explore health disparities, their causes, and local, indigenous, or novel solutions.
• Investigate cultural and socio-economic barriers that may restrict public health and well-being.

Applicants can submit their proposal in various thematic areas as follows:

• Maternal and Child Health
• HIV / Advanced HIV
• Emergency Response
• Diabetes
• Refugee Health
• Climate Emergency
• Occupational Health
• Food Insecurity
• Access to drugs
• Mental Health Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
• Neglected Tropical Diseases

Without Borders Media Fellowship at Glance

Submission Deadline: 5 June 2023

Fellowship Duration: 3 months (July – September 2023)

Funding Type: Fully-funded

Duration of the Fellowship: Three months

Fellowship Location: Germany

Organized By: Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

Gender: Male/Female

Reporting Field: Health

Eligible Countries: All

What to Expect from the Fellowship?

Fellows can expect the following benefits from the Without Borders Media Fellowship:

• MSF program will provide mentorship, subject matter sensitization, and training,
• Fellows will have access to MSF projects and experts.
• Receive funding to cover the costs of their reporting for field visits. The award funding varies depending on circumstances, from INR 50,000 to INR 2,00,000.
• MSF South Asia will feature works of multimedia journalists on its website, especially those producing news feature stories
• In addition to the Fellowship award, news organizations may pay journalists for their work. However, MSF may consider stipends to cover a reporter’s time in exceptional cases.
• Applicants applying on behalf of a newsroom will not receive overhead or indirect expenses in the budgets.

Note: Fellows should publish their work within three months of receiving the Award

Eligibility Criteria

The followings are some criteria for the application:

• MSF supports journalists of all nationalities and diverse backgrounds to apply for this opportunity. Applicants who are professional reporters, photographers, television/video journalists, and radio/audio journalists working in print, television, and online media like YouTube can apply for this opportunity. Also, freelancers in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Pakistan are eligible to apply.
• Media professionals with experience writing about gender, development, public health, public policy, or related topics are eligible.
• Journalists working for English and local language publications can also apply for this Fellowship.
• Former fellows can also apply, but priority goes to first-time applicants.

Selection Criteria

Please consider these selection criteria as an applicant for the Without Borders Media Fellowship:

• Applicants’ proposals must be mainly in a significant public health or humanitarian crisis in the abovementioned countries.
• Proposals should align with MSF’s social mission, values, and work.
• The current relevance of the story pitch
• Be innovative stories that can bring new insights into an issue
• Applicants should provide at least three years of professional experience

Deliverables and Notes:

Prospective fellows should consider the following deliverables:

• Fellows applying for this Fellowship will work with the MSF South Asia Communications Team and mentors to finalize their deliverables.
• Applicants must have reviewed the presentation or representation of medical and non-medical facts, stories, and lived experiences that may affect patient privacy, rights, and access to healthcare.
• Print or Digital News Fellows must publish at least three article series of 800 words, feature, or analysis. Alternatively, they can publish one long-form story of 2500-3000 words on a unique news platform. If an applicant is already working in a news organization, the organization must demonstrate an interest in publishing the story.
• Multimedia Fellows should publish one news feature of 5-10mins, a photo essay, or illustrations supported with 600 words.
• Candidates should also submit letters of commitment from news outlets and national or international organizations to publish or broadcast their work.
• Fellows should participate in a webinar or Facebook Live session for publishing purposes of the stories, where each fellow will speak about their work and highlight the cause.

Application Procedure and Required Materials

The Without Borders Media Fellowship application selection is competitive. Therefore applications should include the following supporting materials:

• Concrete Story pitch: Description of the story the applicant seeks to pursue during their
• Pre-reporting on the subject is an advantage to the application.
• A compelling and well-researched pitch of 500-750 words, with references, is a plus point.
• The travel and dissemination plan lists the Fellowship’s preferred start and end dates, locations, field visit dates, legal and physical risks, stakeholders involved, etcetera.
• Three links of the most relevant stories to the pitch published in the last year
• A media organization letter of commitment or interest for publishing the applicant’s story(ies), including names and contacts of two professional references.
• Applicant’s CV or Resume.

Apply Now

Visit the official MSF website for further details.

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