United Nations Foundation Announces Press Fellowship To UN General Assembly Week In September

The United Nations Foundation today announced a press fellowship to the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York. Selected journalists will have the opportunity to attend the largest annual gathering of heads of state and ministers at the 73^rdGeneral Assembly and will take part in exclusive briefings with experts and senior officials working to address pressing global issues and advance the Sustainable Development Goals. The fellowship will offer a stipend to cover travel costs. Programming will take place in New York City during the week of September 23.

This year’s UN General Assembly will take place at a critical time, when challenges to peace, security and development are increasingly interconnected. More than 65 million people have fled their homes due to violence and disaster, while intensified conflicts in countries including Myanmar, Nigeria and Yemen mean 11 million more people faced severe food insecurity in 2017 than the year before. There are threats to global health, with new drug-resistant infections including gonorrhea, Ebola resurfacing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and tuberculosis exacerbated by poverty in Venezuela. Meanwhile the effects of climate change exacerbate poverty, health and migration challenges, with extreme monsoons in South Asia leaving over 900,000 Rohingya refugees vulnerable to diseases like cholera.

“Linked challenges like climate change and displacement show that local problems can have global repercussions, and pose major threats to livelihoods and economies,” said Rajesh Mirchandani, Chief Communications Officer at the UN Foundation. “This fellowship offers journalists the chance to speak directly with leaders on the forefront of building resilience and helping countries deliver progress for their people and our planet.”

The UN Foundation’s press fellowship will offer direct access to experts in specially-convened briefings and at events. Additional events taking place during UN Week include the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit and high-level meetings on tuberculosis and peacekeeping. Journalists will also attend the one-day Social Good Summit.

The fellowship is intended for journalists interested in the work of the United Nations to address global issues. We welcome applications from journalists filing across all platforms, both traditional and digital. Participants will receive a stipend to cover travel costs.

The application can be found here. Application deadline: July 6, 2018. For more information, please contact Serena Jiwani at sjiwani@unfoundation.org.

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About the United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors. Learn more at: www.unfoundation.org.