Applications open for 2024 Collaborative Journalism Fellowship

Free Press Unlimited is calling for applications for its 2024 Collaborative Journalism Fellowship. Are you passionate about collaborative journalism and eager to enhance your skills, creating impactful cross-border projects? Then apply now!

The Collaborative Journalism Fellowship (April-August 2024) will immerse 20 early and mid-career journalists into the world of collaborative journalism and equip participants with essential skills needed to develop and run a collaborative cross-border investigation. Fellows will also benefit from mentorship and peer support alongside access to a Europe wide network of media organisations. At the end of a successful fellowship, fellows will be able to apply for reporting grants (worth up to 10 000 EUR) to develop a collaborative cross-border investigation.

The call

The Fellowship is part of the Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative (CIJI), aiming to equip independent media outlets and individual journalists with resources, innovative networking infrastructure, and standards-based methods for high-quality, ethical, and accountable collaborative and investigative journalism. CIJI is conducted in partnership with Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), Tactical Tech (TT), Fundacja Reporterów (FR), OBC Transeuropa (OBCT), and Delfi, aspiring to become a network-based initiative promoting ethical standards, offering training, capacity-building opportunities, and a forum for collaboration and peer support.

Who can apply?

We invite journalists, both staff and freelance, from diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply for our five-month programme.

This call is open to applicants from one of the EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden), non-EU countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia), and participants from Belarus, Russia, or Ukraine but residing within the EU.

What will you learn?

By the end of the fellowship, participants will have a deep understanding of collaborative journalism principles, hands-on experience in collaborative project development, and a network of fellow journalists and industry professionals to support their future endeavours in the field. The fellows will have developed comprehensive story pitches they would like to pursue and be able to apply successfully for cross-border collaborative grants and partnerships within CIJI and beyond.

Who should apply?

• Independent journalists, staff and freelance, from all EU countries and Creative Europe countries. Applicants need to reside in these countries for the duration of the fellowship.
• Journalists who are passionate about collaborative storytelling as well as professionals eager to develop cross-border projects.
• Applicants don’t need to have extensive experience in collaborative journalism to apply for this programme. Fellows will also have the opportunity to shape or change their original pitches during the fellowship and apply with those for the collaborative story grants.
• Journalists who work in media organisations that are state owned and/or editorially controlled by state authorities are not eligible for the Fellowship.
• Journalists need to possess an advanced knowledge of the English language to be able to fully participate in all activities.
• Individuals from underrepresented backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

How to apply

The deadline for applications is March 4, 2024. To learn more about this opportunity and apply, please click here.