About this Program
Fellows will travel to Cali to attend the entire duration of the UN biodiversity negotiations, which will take place from October 21, 2024 to November 1, 2024, with arrival planned for October 19, 2024, and departure on November 2, 2024.
EJN will cover non-refundable economy-class airfare, accommodation, meals, travel medical insurance and ground transportation costs related to fellowship participation. Organizers will also facilitate the press accreditation process and provide logistical support relating to the trip. Please note that the process of obtaining any necessary visas is the fellow's individual responsibility, though EJN will reimburse visa costs.
A minimum of five journalists will be selected for the in-person fellowship; arrangements for a larger cohort may be made in the coming months. Prior to the start of COP16, fellows will receive informational resources and technical support to help prepare for reporting at the conference, including a pre-COP virtual workshop to meet the team, discuss reporting opportunities, and ask any questions to support your pre-reporting and preparatory work.
While in Cali, fellows will participate in a series of specially designed activities, including an orientation session with biodiversity experts on the key issues at this COP, daily briefings and interviews with high-level officials. They will also be mentored by EJN trainers, who are senior journalists with experience in covering UN summits. Trainers will offer valuable insight into the deliberations happening on the ground, and share feedback and guidance as needed to support fellows’ story production. Fellows will also engage with their cohort and exchange ideas for effective reporting.
Journalists awarded fellowships are responsible for their own safety during travel, and for ensuring that they meet all requirements for travel and attendance.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the fellowship, the applicant must:
- Be a professional journalist from or representing an established media house and reporting from a low- or middle-income country as classified by .
- Have previous experience reporting on biodiversity issues and clearly indicate the kinds of stories you might pursue while covering the conference.
- Be available and willing to travel to Cali to attend COP16 in person, arriving on October 19 and departing no earlier than November 2, 2024.
- Have a good command of the English language.
- Share an up-to-date resume/CV.
- Provide a letter of support from an editor, producer, or supervisor who can confirm that your news reports will be published or broadcast in an established media outlet. Freelancers are welcome to apply but must provide a letter of support from a media outlet for which they intend to report.
- Provide recent, relevant and journalistic work samples on biodiversity topics, which can be uploaded as documents or web links. Stories can be in any language as long as they are accompanied by a short English synopsis. Clips must focus on biodiversity topics and should have been published in the last 12 months.
Note: You'll be asked to upload these supporting documents once you start the application process, so please have them handy.
For the purposes of this opportunity, we will only be accepting applications in English. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time. Applicants must be able to participate fully in an English-language fellowship to be awarded.
Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio). We encourage applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—international, national, local and community-based.
Journalists who attended biodiversity COPs in the past with EJN’s support are not eligible for this opportunity. In August, after fellows are selected and confirmed for this fellowship, we plan to launch an opportunity for journalists to apply for a virtual reporting fellowship to cover COP16 remotely, with mentorship.
EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, plagiarism and submitting AI-generated content as their own.
Judging Criteria
Applications for conference scholarships will be accepted until July 6, 2024. Decisions will be communicated before the end of October.
We are looking for applicants who meet the following criteria:
- Demonstrated experience covering climate change, climate policy and other environmental topics;
- A clear and well-researched reporting plan for the COP, including potential story ideas, an estimated number of stories they’ll produce during the fellowship and demonstrated intention to continue developing their plan as the COP draws closer;
- A relationship with an established media house and a signed letter of support from an editor agreeing to publish or broadcast work produced at the COP.
EJN also considers the need to assemble a diverse cohort of journalists from different types of media houses, mediums and geographies.
