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Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship

Call for applications for Fellowship starting October 1, 2013
Deadline for applications:  July 5, 2013

RFE/RL is pleased to accept applications for the 2013 - 2014 Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship.  The Fellowship is a joint program between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and RFE/RL that is inspired by the former president’s belief in the transformational role of journalism in challenging tyranny.  It provides direct work experience and mentoring at RFE/RL’s Prague headquarters to journalists from countries in RFE/RL’s broadcast region where media freedom is stifled.

The Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship offers a unique opportunity for journalists to receive on-the-job training while working alongside RFE/RL’s seasoned professionals in Prague and in RFE/RL’s local bureaus. Fellows will be integrated into RFE/RL language services and participate actively in multi-media programming and reporting. They will also represent themselves, RFE/RL and the Fellowship at public events and in discussions relating to media conditions in their country. Fellowships last nine months, including time spent in country in RFE/RL’s local bureau and in the Prague broadcasting headquarters, and include a stipend, housing and travel arrangements to and from Prague.  

How to Apply 

(Download pdf here and information in Russian here)
 

Eligibility:
The program is open to promising journalists with English-language proficiency from the Russian Federation and the Eastern Partnership Countries: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova.

Fellowships will be awarded on a competitive basis in accordance with the application process described below.

Instructions for Applying:

A complete application includes all of the following information, as described more fully in points 1 - 6 below:
     * A short personal essay describing the candidate’s fellowship and career goals
     * Work samples
     * Two letters of recommendation
     * Curriculum vitae

Requested materials must be submitted in English.

Candidates may be contacted and asked to participate in a telephone interview.

Candidates must provide all of the information requested below, either in this document or in a separate document. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Completed applications must be received by Friday, July 5, 2013, at havelfellowship@rferl.org.  Candidates will be informed of their selection by August 1, 2013.


1) Personal Information
Name:
Email address:
Phone number:
Present address:
Permanent address:

2) Personal Statement
Your personal statement should be written in English.  It should describe your journalistic experience, your specific interest in the Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship, and career goals in 750 words or less. This is a very important part of your application and will be thoroughly read and considered in the selection process.   Please consider:  What experiences in journalism have influenced you?  What values and interests motivate you to seek a continued career in journalism?   What are your strongest professional skills?   What experience, skills, etc., do you intend to gain from your fellowship? How would you like to see your career path develop?  What do you hope to accomplish through your career in journalism?

3) Work Samples
Please attach 2-3 work samples demonstrating your journalistic skill and ability. At least one of the samples must have been published within the year of the deadline. All samples must include a date and, if not in English, they must be accompanied by an English translation. Samples cannot be returned.

4) Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of recommendation are required with your application. One of your letters should be from a current supervisor or from a colleague who practices journalism. The writers should explain their relationship to you, confirm your qualifications, potential for professional growth and development, and why you are an excellent candidate for the fellowship.

5) Current CV
Please attach your updated curriculum vitae in English, including relevant employment experience and educational background (institutions, major/concentration, dates attended, and degree(s) awarded).  Your CV should list your job history (name of employers and dates) since completing your formal education. Please also list any noteworthy distinctions or awards, current or recent memberships in professional, political or other groups. Please also state if you have received any type of certification (and at what level) as a learner of English as a foreign language.

6) How Did You Hear about the Havel Fellowship Program?
We are interested in knowing how you learned about the program (e.g., RFE/RL’s website, Facebook, a professional or academic reference, etc.).

Questions?
Email HokuvovaJ@rferl.org and a coordinator will respond to you as quickly as possible.

Class of 2013

Irina Gotisan, a journalist specializing in visual media and documentary film, is fulfilling her fellowship in Prague with RFE/RL’s Moldova Service. From 2010-2012, Gotisan worked as a reporter covering political and social issues for TV Moldova 1, a national, public television channel. A recipient of the Chisinau Press Club’s “Hope of the Year” award in 2010, Gotisan has held several journalism internships, including one with AICI Network, a media program funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In 2006, Gotisan joined the International Relations faculty at “Perspectiva International” University in Chisinau, where she taught courses on globalization and international relations. Gotisan is a 2012 graduate of the Television School in Bucharest, Romania and holds a Masters degree from the Academy of Public Administration in Chisinau. A native of Basarabeasca, Moldova, Gotisan is fluent in Romanian, Russian and English.

Seda Stepanyan, a playwright and journalist, is fulfilling her fellowship in Prague with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. In 2012, Stepanyan produced content for the Armenian news website Hraparak.am, while in 2010 she helped write the script for the Armenian television program “Mankapatum.” Stepanyan is the author of several plays, including “Striptiz,” which won a grant from the Open Society Foundations to be staged in Yerevan this spring; “Waiting for Death,” (awarded ninth place in the 2011 BBC World Service’s Radio Playwright Competition); and “And The Sun Went On Shining Cynically" (a regional award winner in the same competition in 2012). Stepanyan holds a Bachelor’s degree from Yerevan State Linguistic University and has studied Classical Vocal and Teaching Practice at the Yerevan State Conservatory. While at university, Stepanyan won first prize for a student work at the annual Na/Ne media competition organized by the British Council. Stepanyan lives in Yerevan and is fluent in Armenian, English and Russian.

Tahmina Taghiyeva, a multi-media journalist interested in human rights issues, is fulfilling her fellowship in Prague with RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service. Taghiyeva is serving concurrently as the video editor of a regional reporting project with the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). Before coming to Prague, Taghiyeva worked as a journalist, editor and project coordinator with the Ganja Media Center, located in Azerbaijan’s second largest city. From 2007-2011, she worked in the western regional office of Azerbaijan’s ANS TV, where she produced and anchored shows for television stations in Ganja and Yevlakh. She has worked for several newspapers, and has recently launched her own video channel and blog. Taghiyeva’s courageous reporting earned her a 2013 Norwegian Fritt Ord and German Zeit Foundation Press Prize. Originally from Ganja, she has a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Service Management from Azerbaijan Technological University and speaks Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian and English.

Class of 2012

Franak Viačorka, the first Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellow at RFE/RL, is a journalist, filmmaker and political activist from Minsk, Belarus. Franak has worked as a journalist and editor for several independent publications in Belarus, including as a freelancer for the BelaPAN news agency (2005-2008), as executive editor of the Belarusan Popular Front’s monthly journal “Naviny BNF” (2005-2008) and since 2011 as director of the “Citizen Journalist” initiative narodny.by. Viachorka also worked from 2008-2012 with the independent satellite TV channel Belsat. Since completing his Fellowship, he has continued to work with RFE/RL as the Belarus Service's New Media Manager and as a presenter on the RFE/RL Belarus Service program "Zona Svobody.

In 2006 Viačorka starred in the award-winning documentary, “A Lesson of Belarusian,” which chronicled his life as a pro-democracy youth activist in the run-up to the country’s 2006 presidential elections. He is also the co-screen writer and second director of a 2013 film, “Viva Belarus,” about his army service and the circumstances faced by young conscripts.

Vaclav Havel was the first post-revolutionary president of independent Czechoslovakia in 1989, and the first Czech president in 1993. He was also a renowned playwright, poet and essayist.Vaclav Havel's name is synonymous with peaceful resistance to authoritarianism and commitment to individual liberty and dignity. In his career as a writer and playwright, Havel established himself as Europe’s most renowned dissident voice. During his time as president of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, Havel used his position of influence to speak out as an unyielding advocate for democratic voices the world over. Long a listener and supporter of RFE/RL, Havel invited RFE/RL to take up residence in Prague in 1995, planting RFE/RL’s headquarters in a city where its broadcasts were once banned.