Deadline: 25th October 2023
Registration for the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma Early Childhood Reporting Institute 2024 are now open. The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma is holding a four-day reporting institute for reporters and editors around the world who want to deepen their knowledge of early childhood development and increase their ability to report ethically and effectively on the youngest children and their carers. The reporting institute - part of the Dart Center's Early Childhood Journalism Initiative - will be held from 8 to 11 March 2024 at the Columbia Journalism School in New York.
Programme details
From the first moments of their lives, babies depend on their parents and carers to survive. Secure bonds and positive relationships with carers are essential for early brain development and mental and physical health. But caring for young children is far from easy, especially when carers face adversity of various kinds - from violence and war to poverty and inequality, forced migration, climate disasters, housing and food insecurity. These challenges impose enormous pressures on carers and can significantly affect their mental health and ability to provide nutritional care to young children.
Research shows that most governments spend little or nothing on support for carers and, in particular, on mental health. At the same time, issues of early childhood development and carer support are persistently underreported by the media and therefore receive little attention from policymakers and the public. The cycle grows stronger.
This four-day global reporting institute will bring together journalists from around the world for panels, workshops and skills-based training delivered by leading child development researchers, doctors and experts and practitioners, as well as conversations between journalists and journalists about how to translate these issues and themes into meaningful stories and relevant, cross-cutting news coverage. The institute will offer opportunities for knowledge sharing, source development and peer learning and will continue to develop a global network of journalists dedicated to reporting on young children and carers with insight, accuracy, sensitivity and depth.
This four-day reporting institute is the latest programme in the Early Childhood Journalism Initiative, launched by the Dart Center in 2017 to encourage science-based, child-centred reporting that also examines the mental health and well-being of caregivers. Supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation (Netherlands), Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation (Brazil) and The Two Lilies Fund (United States), the initiative provided more than 200 journalists from around the world with the knowledge, skills and resources to incorporate emerging science and policy on early childhood development into their coverage. This is a selection of the work that ECJI has supported.
Cost
- Round-trip international or domestic travel, 3-4 nights hotel accommodation, ground transport to/from New York airports and most meals will be covered for 25 selected participants. Health insurance, travel insurance, visa fees and ground transport in the country of origin will not be covered.
Eligibility
- Reporters and editors working in print, digital, audio, photography, television and video media with a minimum of three years' professional experience can apply. Editor-reporter pairs will be considered where applicable. Student journalists are not eligible.
- The entire programme will be conducted in English. Strong proficiency in spoken English is required.
Application
To send a completed application, you will need:
- CV
- Professional Biography
- Letter of interest: your letter should discuss your work as a journalist, your experiences reporting on children or carers, challenges you have encountered or specific events or experiences that have informed your perspective and/or career path, and what you hope to learn. from the institute. (No more than 2 pages)
- Two samples of recent and relevant work:
- Your work sample should have been published or broadcast within three years.
- You must have worked as a reporter or editor on the story or project.
- If your work example is in a language other than English, send it with a transcript in English.
- Two letters of recommendation from professional references: you will be asked to provide an email address for each of your recommenders, and they will be contacted directly by Submittable to send their recommendations for your application. The deadline for recommendations is 1st November 2023.
For more information, visit Early Childhood Reporting Institute .
