Our Voice Editor Dr. Abdul Hai Awarded CIJI Fellowship

Bonn, May 24 (FPU/OurVoice): Free Press Unlimited (FPU), an international press freedom organisation dedicated to supporting media and journalists worldwide, has seleced 20 journalists including Our Voice Chief Editor Dr. Abdul Hai for the 2024 Collaborative Journalism Fellowship.  
In a press announcement FPU mentioned, following a competitive application process, an internationally diverse cohort of fellows has been chosen from a pool of 109 applicants representing 25 countries across Europe.
The Collaborative Journalism Fellowship, part of the Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative (CIJI), aims to equip early and mid-career journalists with the skills necessary to develop and execute collaborative cross-border investigations. Fellows participate in a five-month programme (April-August 2024) consisting of online training sessions, workshops, mentorship opportunities, and in-person networking events and masterclasses.
"We believe in the power of collaborative journalism to drive positive change and promote transparency and accountability," said Ruth Kronenburg, Executive Director of Free Press Unlimited. "Through this fellowship, we aim to empower journalists with the tools and resources they need to produce impactful cross-border investigations that address pressing issues and inform the public."
Throughout the fellowship, fellows have access to experienced mentors from CIJI's regional media hubs and partner networks, including Investigate Europe, Journalists in Need Network, Rise Project Romania, Delfi, OBC Transeuropa, and Fundacja Reporterów. They also have the opportunity to apply for cross-border reporting grants, with ten grants worth up to 10,000 EUR each available upon completion of the fellowship.
"It's been exciting to bring together this group of talented journalists from across Europe," said Carolyn Thompson, an award-winning data and investigative journalist and the coordinator of the fellowship. "Each of the journalists comes with different experiences, subjects of interest, and regional knowledge. We're excited to see how they will combine these into meaningful investigative projects."
The fellows are also supposed to participate in a kick-off networking meeting in Bucharest in May, followed by an advanced collaborative journalism course in Prague in June this year. Weekly online meetings are scheduled to be held from April to August to guide effective collaboration, investigative skills, communication, and project management.
The open call for applications for the Collaborative Journalism Fellowship ran between February and March 2024. Over 100 candidates from 25 countries across Europe applied for the fellowship. The jury, consisting of CIJI consortium partners and CIJI regional media hubs, reviewed the applications and made the final selection. Selection criteria included the quality and originality of the proposals, diversity of ideas, candidate’s experience, and motivation to be involved in collaborative projects beyond CIJI. The jury also looked to ensure a geographic balance and diversity of perspectives in the fellowship cohort.  
Free Press Unlimited is an international press freedom organisation that supports media and journalists worldwide. With over 300 local media partners in more than 50 countries, Free Press Unlimited works to make independent news and information available to everyone.
CIJI is a collaborative journalism initiative aimed at equipping independent media outlets and individual journalists with resources, networking infrastructure, and methods for high-quality, ethical, and accountable collaborative and investigative journalism. Conducted in partnership with Reporters without Borders (RSF), Tactical Tech (TT), Free Press Unlimited, Fundacja Reporterów (FR), OBC Transeuropa (OBCT), and Delfi, CIJI promotes collaborative storytelling and peer support in the journalism community.
Former journalist of Deutsche Welle (DW) and Editor of expatriate magazine Schimanto (Grenze) Dr. Abdul Hai expressed gratitude to the jury and said, this is a big success and recognition for the whole team of journalists, contributors and well-wishers of the tri-lingual international media platform Our Voice Online, which has been focussing on the human stories through its investigative research and ethical presentation for the critical analysis and innovative solution in the social, cultural, political and scientific issues.