Call for Proposals: The Akshaya Patra- OneWorld Media Fellowships on Hunger

Applications are invited from journalists, with demonstrated interest in development issues in India, for The Akshaya Patra-OneWorld Media Fellowships on Hunger – 2012. This is open to both regular and freelance journalists, from mainstream media including print, electronic, radio, online media and news agencies/wires. The duration of the Fellowship is six-months, from 15th June 2012 – 15th December 2012; the working language will be English and Hindi. The last date of submission of applications is 31st May 2012.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF) and OneWorld Foundation India (OWFI) are collaboratively instituting a media fellowship programme for regular and freelance journalists from the print, electronic, radio, online media and news agencies/wires in India to study, analyse and report on the issue of hunger and food security from different parts of the country. The intent is to mainstream media awareness around the critical issue of hunger, and create better public opinion and information around it.

Sub-themes

Within the larger theme of hunger and food security, some sub-themes are suggested below, which can be explored within this journalistic assignment. These include hunger and its inter-linkages across different issues as mentioned below:

•    Hunger and education

•    Hunger and children – issues of nutrition and malnutrition

•    The gender perspective to hunger

•    Role of the Mid-day Meal Scheme (MDMS) as the Government's attempt to tackle hunger

•    Different delivery models of the MDMS in India, and how far they have been successful

•    Agricultural security vis-à-vis hunger / food security

•    Hunger and the overall well-being of society

•    Livelihood security vis-à-vis food security

•    Status of MDGs 1 and 2 in India – successes, failures and learnings

(MDG 1 - eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, and MDG 2 - achieving universal primary education)

•    Hunger as a crisis of governance

•    Leveraging technology/ICT for addressing hunger

•    Role and adequacy of government schemes (like PDS, MDMS) in addressing hunger

•    Food production and budget allocation

The above sub-themes are however indicative only. The Fellowships will allow flexibility to the applicants to arrive at a chosen and relevant topic for their study. Selected applicants may be guided by the jury in further elaborating their theme.

Deliverables from the fellowship 

Deliverables from the Fellowship over the six-month award period will comprise a total of five stories for every fellow. This will include:

• Four (4) news/feature stories
  a)    to be published by print and online media fellows in a newspaper, magazine, wire or news website/portal
  b)    to be telecast/broadcast by electronic media fellows in a TV channel or radio station

• The fifth deliverable will be a 5,000-word essay/ analytical piece - around the issue of hunger and food security – that has to be submitted to OneWorld. These essays will be compiled into a compendium that will be published by and jointly copyrighted to Akshaya Patra and OneWorld. Fellows do not need to publish the last essay. Electronic media journalists can choose between submitting an essay, or they can submit a 15-minute episode of a radio/ TV programme.
• The journalists would need to acknowledge the support of the Akshaya Patra-OneWorld Media Fellowships on Hunger – 2012, when they publish, broadcast or telecast the articles/ stories they produce through this fellowship.
  

At the completion of the fellowship programme

• For print media journalists, the original clippings of published articles will have to be submitted, along with the date and the name of publication
• For electronic media journalists, the video and audio CDs of their output will have to be submitted, along with the date of telecast/broadcast and the name of channel/station
• All fellows need to take and submit photographs of the areas they travel to for their stories

Timeline of deliverables

• Out of the five deliverables, a minimum of two (2) news/feature stories need to be submitted within 4 months of commencement of the fellowship

Applications Process

Fellowship applicants must send in their applications with the following documents:

• A copy of curriculum vitae (CV)
• A letter of support from the applicant's editor/ producer to the effect that the output (stories, news reports, features, opinion pieces, etc.) generated from the fellowship will be published/broadcast/telecast by the affiliate media group. In case of a freelance journalist, this can be a letter of recommendation from a media group/ publication indicating its willingness to publish/ broadcast/ telecast her/ his work.   
  
• A comprehensive fellowship proposal (on the application form provided below) outlining:

    a)    the region (state/district) on which the proposal is focused

    b)    the subject/s and story ideas that the applicant proposes to focus on, including any scheme that 
           s/he may want to look at, for each of the first 4 (four) stories that they will publish

    c)    a tentative framework for the fifth essay of 5000 words or video/audio episode of 15-minutes which 
           they will submit to OneWorld

    d)    the tentative travel plans

• Print/online journalists need to send in a sample of their published work on a development issue. 'Published work' implies article/s written by the journalist that have been published by/in any national or regional newspaper, magazine or news website/portal. The date of publication needs to be mentioned, and should ideally be within the last six months.
• For television and radio journalists, one sample of their telecast/broadcast programmes on a development issue has to be provided. Applicants also need to provide a short written summary of the programme along with the CDs. The date of broadcast/telecast (which should ideally be within the last six months) and the channel/station where it was aired also need to be mentioned.

The last date for submission of applications is 31st May, 2012

Compensation

• Selected fellows will each receive a total stipend of Rs 60,000 (including all taxes and subject to tax deductions at source) to support their research study and writing through the given period of 6 months
• Each fellow will also get a book allowance of Rs 5,000, and travel reimbursement on-actuals subject to an upper limit of Rs 35,000.  The travel allowance has to be spread over at least two legs of travel, which in effect means at least two field trips
• The stipend to fellows will be released in three installments –

1. The first amount of 30% at commencement of the scholarship
2. The second installment of 40% at the end of four months, subject to submission of the stipulated number of articles within the period of four months
3. The last installment of 30% on successful completion of the fellowship and submission of all deliverables
4. The book allowance and travel reimbursement on-actuals will be released as and when the fellows produce the bills

Applications for the fellowship should be addressed by email only to: mediafellowships@oneworld.net

Download the application form here.

Please mention clearly in subject line: "Applications for AP-OW Media Fellowships on Hunger - 2012"

If you have any queries, you can e-mail at:mediafellowships@oneworld.net , or contact: 

Rahul Kumar/Madhusmita Hazarika
OneWorld South Asia
C 1/3 Safdarjung Development Area
New Delhi 110 016
Tel: +91-11-41689000
Fax: +91-11-41689001