European Media Leaders Climate Solutions Fellowship

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About the Fellowship

This 10-month fellowship will equip editorial leaders with the tools, knowledge, and support to become climate solutions journalism champions within their news organisations. By focusing on solutions journalism, fellows will learn to highlight actionable responses to climate challenges, driving a sense of collective empowerment and achieving positive change.

What fellows will receive

Expert learning and development opportunities: Comprehensive training in solutions journalism techniques, including a training-of-trainers component to help you spread these skills within and beyond your newsroom. We’ll introduce and explain SJN’s tools for measuring and increasing impact and engagement with affected communities.
Focus on climate reporting: Learn to apply solutions journalism to climate reporting, addressing pressing topics such as the transition to a greener economy, sustainable business practices, green finance, and the impact of policy changes.
Leadership development: We’ll help you build skills to drive editorial change and influence within your organisation.
Seed Funding: Up to €10,000 to implement a climate solutions reporting project tailored to your newsroom's needs.
Mentorship and networking: Support and guidance from peers and industry leaders to help you implement your learning in your news organisation.

Format

In-person events: There will be two in-person events: a launch in Brussels on December 2-3, 2024, and a closing event in August-September 2025. Travel, meals, and accommodation will be provided.
Online sessions: Monthly online group sessions will be held, typically outside normal working hours.
Additional resources: Reading materials and videos will be provided.
Mentorship: Fellows will be paired with industry mentors to support their project development and implementation of a solutions approach in their newsroom. Contact will primarily be online.
Time Commitment: Participation requires several hours each month, with full engagement expected.

Who should apply?

We are seeking leaders who can drive change in their newsrooms. Ideal candidates are those in editorial or managerial roles—or those who can influence broader newsroom coverage.

We’re especially keen to work with politics, business and finance desks that have historically covered private sector climate strategies, investments, finance and other related topics.

We are looking to create a diverse group of fellows with a broad range of backgrounds. We welcome applications from all types of news media, including print, broadcast, audio and online platforms, in any of the Council of Europe’s 46 member nations.

Key requirements

Position of influence: You should be able to shape climate coverage beyond your own reporting.
Organisational support: Your media organisation must support your participation and be committed to implementing and tracking the impact of solutions-based climate reporting.
Commitment to change: Candidates should be eager to engage audiences and communities with impactful, solutions-focused journalism.
English proficiency: While you won't need to produce content in English, the fellowship’s working language will be English.

Cost

The fellowship is fully funded, including travel and accommodation for in-person events. A grant of up to €10,000 will be made available to fellows to implement a project they will develop over the course of the programme.

Learn more

Join us online on Friday, September 20 at 1100 CET to find out more about the programme and answer any questions you may have. Register here.

You may also direct questions or check your eligibility with Fellowship Manager Kevin Burden at kevin@solutionsjournalism.org.

Important dates

Application deadline: 23:00 CET on Sunday, October 6. Late applications will not be considered.
Interviews: Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed during the week of October 21.
Notification: All applicants will be informed of their application status by the end of October.
Programme start: November 2024 (online)
First in-person meeting: December 2-3, 2024, in Brussels (all expenses covered)

Additional Information Upload

Please upload at least one (1) of the following below:

CV/Resume
LinkedIn or other professional bio (url link)

Please upload your CV/resume or provide a link to your LinkedIn profile or other professional biography.

CV/Resume Upload

LinkedIn or other professional bio (url link)

News Outlet Information

News Outlet Name

Country

Please confirm that you have the support of your news organisation by providing the name, title and contact details of a senior manager who endorses your application.

Application Questions

What do you find are the major barriers to better reporting on climate change?

What support would best help you to improve coverage of climate change in your news organisation?

What's one skill you could bring to the group of fellows? What's one skill you'd like to strengthen?

We’d like to ask a few questions now about climate change in your country. They point towards the sort of issues that we are particularly interested in exploring during this project. Please think of these as prompts to tell us interesting issues that you might like to explore during your fellowship, rather than as exam questions with right or wrong answers. You don’t have to write more than a sentence or two for each question.

Construction and the built environment: Rising temperatures are making city living more difficult. What is being done in your country to make cities more livable, comfortable, and sustainable? What steps are being taken to make infrastructure more resilient? How are building practices changing?

Energy and industry: What steps are being taken in your country to move away from fossil fuels? Where are there successes? Where is investment flowing into new technologies and approaches?

Food and farming: Food and farming are major sources of carbon emissions - and yet changing production processes is very challenging. What progress is there in your country towards a more sustainable food market? How are agricultural workers being protected from the worst impacts of a warmer, wetter climate?

Fashion: Today's "fast" fashion, with low-cost clothing moved around the world and disposed of after a short life, is far from sustainable. What is being done to address this, without killing off a profitable industry?

Public attitudes: What pressure is the public in your country putting on business and industry to improve their environmental performance? How is public pressure, changing stakeholder expectations, and ever-tightening legislation influencing the way businesses behave?

Is there a specific project you'd like to experiment with as part of this Fellowship?

Please record a short video of yourself explaining who would benefit from your participation in this programme and how. Answer the question in two minutes or less, and upload to Youtube and share a link to the video. Note that we will assess the quality of your response, not the quality of the video. (Please paste your YT link here):

Thank you for your interest in this programme. We promise to let you know the outcome of your application by the end of October.

NOTE: After you click the "submit" button you will have to confirm your submission on the next page.

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