Call for Application : United Nations Ocean Conference 2025 Fellowships
Please learn the next sections fastidiously, as they include essential info on eligibility and the application course of.
Overview
In the final decade, many promising steps have been taken to guard ‘the lungs of the planet’—our ocean—which produces many of the oxygen we have to breathe and is the world’s largest carbon sink. We have seen particular person international locations take motion. Earlier this 12 months, Greece was the primary nation in Europe to announce a ban on backside trawling in all of its nationwide marine parks and marine protected areas , and up to now 15 international locations have ratified the UN’s High Seas Treaty, which goals to guard marine biodiversity within the two-thirds of ocean waters that don’t fall below nationwide jurisdiction.
Countries made essential strides on the final UN Ocean Conference held in Portugal in 2022: outlining new tips on blue markets and over 50 high-level commitments and pledges overlaying scientific cooperation, monitoring and surveillance of ecosystems and regulation of IUU (unlawful, unreported and unregulated) fishing.
The subsequent UN Ocean Conference , scheduled to be held in Nice, France, from June 9-13, 2025, will probably be an important inflection level to speed up progress on the conservation and sustainable administration of the ocean.
These summits are centered on supporting the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14), which is to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”
Although practically 3 billion folks depend on the ocean for their major supply of protein, and hundreds of thousands worldwide rely upon coastal and marine ecosystems for their livelihoods, lots of the choices and motion plans made to guard the ocean are determined between authorities officers , at such high-level conferences which aren’t accessible to the general public.
It is simply via trusted, clear and accessible journalism that such essential protection can set sail and attain susceptible communities in each continent.
The highway to a sustainable future for our blue planet stays fraught, ; and the general public must be higher knowledgeable about how their international locations are—or aren’t—addressing overfishing, acidification and doubtlessly, deep-sea mining, amongst a number of different threats to the ocean, which is home to 260,000 known species.
As part of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network’s UN Ocean Project, we’re happy to announce a brand new fellowship program for journalists fascinated about attending and reporting from the United Nations Ocean Conference 2025, with assist from the Bloomberg Ocean Fund. This version of the convention will probably be centered on mobilizing all actors to preserve and sustainably use the ocean.
Fellowship logistics
Fellows will journey to Nice, France to attend the whole length of the UN Ocean Conference negotiations, which can happen from June 9-13, with arrival deliberate for 7 June, and departure on 14 June.
EJN will cowl non-refundable economy-class airfare, lodging, meals, journey medical insurance coverage and floor transportation prices associated to fellowship participation. Organizers may even facilitate the press accreditation course of and supply logistical assist referring to the journey. Please observe that the method of acquiring any obligatory visas is the man’s particular person accountability, although EJN will reimburse visa prices. Fellows may even obtain a per diem to cowl each day bills throughout their time in Nice.
5-8 journalists will probably be chosen for the in-person fellowship. Prior to the beginning of UNOC, fellows will obtain informational sources and technical assist to assist put together for reporting on the convention. They will attend pre-COP digital workshop to satisfy their cohort and media coach, talk about reporting alternatives, and ask any inquiries to assist pre-reporting and preparatory work.
While in Nice, fellows will take part in a sequence of specifically designed actions, together with an orientation session with ocean specialists on the important thing points at this UNOC, each day briefings led by EJN’s media trainers and interviews with high-level officers. The fellowship will supply precious insights into the local weather and environmental stakes of threats to the ocean and the measures required to guard the marine ecosystem. Fellows may even interact with their cohort and trade concepts for efficient reporting and obtain editorial suggestions and steerage on their tales from EJN’s media coach.
Journalists awarded fellowships are accountable for their very own security throughout journey, and for making certain that they meet all necessities for journey and attendance.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the fellowship, the applicant should:
- Be knowledgeable journalist from or representing a longtime media home and reporting from any nation with a coast. Applicants from international locations within the Mediterranean area and low- and middle-income international locations are particularly inspired to apply.
- Have earlier expertise reporting on ocean points (examples embody threats to the ocean equivalent to, IIU fishing, the impacts of algal bloom, acidification and air pollution in addition to revolutionary and actionable options to guard the ocean, equivalent to technological advances to watch ocean crimes, new multilateral agreements such because the Plastics treaty and High Seas treaty, funding mechanisms equivalent to blue bonds, and coverage measures equivalent to Marine Protected Areas, fishing quotas, and so forth.
- Clearly point out the sorts of tales they’ll search to pursue whereas overlaying the convention.
- Be out there for the convention in Nice from 9 till 13 June 2025, arriving on 7 June and departing on 14 June.
- Have a very good command of the English language.
- Share an up-to-date resume/CV.
- Provide a letter of assist from an editor, producer, or supervisor who can affirm that your information experiences will probably be printed or broadcast in a longtime media outlet. Freelancers are welcome to apply however should present a letter of assist from a media outlet for which they intend to report.
- Provide latest, related and journalistic work samples which deal with ocean points (ideally overlaying ocean governance/insurance policies associated to marine safety). These could be uploaded as paperwork or internet hyperlinks. Stories could be in any language so long as they’re accompanied by a brief English synopsis. Stories should have clear bylines and may have been printed within the final 12 months.
For the needs of this chance, we are going to solely be accepting purposes in English. Unfortunately, we don’t have the capability to think about purposes in different languages presently. Applicants should have the ability to take part totally in an English-language fellowship to be awarded.
Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (on-line, print, tv, radio). We encourage purposes from freelance reporters and workers from all varieties of media organizations—worldwide, nationwide, native and community-based.
Journalists who attended the earlier UNOC in 2022 with EJN’s assist or every other EJN-supported fellowships in 2024 usually are not eligible for this chance.
EJN reserves the correct to disqualify candidates from consideration if they’ve been discovered to have engaged in unethical or improper skilled conduct, together with, however not restricted to, plagiarism and submitting AI-generated content material as their very own.
Judging standards
Applications for convention fellowships will probably be accepted till January 15, 2025. Decisions will probably be communicated in early February 2025.
We are trying for candidates who meet the next standards:
- Demonstrated expertise overlaying marine points and different environmental subjects;
- Long-term dedication to the sector of journalism and in persevering with to report on these subjects;
- A relationship with a longtime media home and possession of a signed letter of assist from an editor/producer/supervisor agreeing to publish or broadcast any work produced throughout the fellowship.
EJN additionally considers the necessity to assemble a various cohort of journalists from various kinds of media homes, media (together with print, on-line, radio, broadcast) and geographies.
Story logistics
Fellows are anticipated to provide at the very least 2 in-depth tales or analyses to be printed throughout the course of the fellowship or inside the two weeks following the fellowship, for their media home. Journalists are welcome to provide each day or brief information items, as extra tales to the fellowship, and are additionally inspired to share their work on social media for wider attain, though these usually are not necessities of the fellowship.
Participating journalists are free to report as they see match; nonetheless, as part of our program we might present additional coaching or actions associated to extra technical, under-reported or scientific ideas. We do ask that fellows adhere to fundamental editorial requirements (which will probably be shared initially of the fellowship) and these tips:
Language of publication: Stories produced on account of this fellowship could be in any language. We ask that fellows present high-quality English summaries of tales produced in different languages and totally translate at the very least certainly one of their tales into English so it may be shared with a wider viewers. Fellows might use a device like DeepL or different automated translation apps to help however ought to evaluation the translations submitted for readability and accuracy.
Acknowledgement of assist: Published tales and/or broadcasts should disclose EJN assist by together with this tagline: “This story was produced as part of the UN Ocean Conference Fellowship 2025, organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.”
Republication rights: Those who’re awarded grants are free to publish or broadcast tales produced on account of the fellowship first of their affiliated media so long as Internews’ EJN, its companions and the grant funders are additionally given rights to edit, republish, broadcast and distribute them freely.
Travel necessities and security protocols: Fellows are accountable for making certain that they meet any necessities for journey to France. Applicants will probably be requested to point that they perceive that participation within the fellowship requires compliance with the French authorities and venue necessities.
EJN will proceed to evaluate journey and well being dangers and can talk these with fellows forward of the convention. All journey to take part on this fellowship will probably be voluntary.
How to apply
Click the ‘Apply now’ button on the prime of the web page.
If you will have an current account, you’ll must log in. If not, you have to register by clicking “Log in” on the highest proper of the web page and clicking the “Sign up” hyperlink on the backside of the web page that opens. Click here for detailed directions on methods to create an account, and here for detailed directions on methods to reset your password.
If you begin the application and wish to come again and full it later, you’ll be able to click on ‘Save Draft.’ To return to the draft, you’ll want to return to the chance and click on ‘Apply now’ once more to finalize the application.
Note: You’ll be requested to add these supporting paperwork when you begin the application course of, so please have them useful.
If you encounter difficulties with submitting your application or have questions concerning the grants, please e mail info.ejn@internews.org. Do not contact every other Internews e mail relating to this chance, as we is not going to obtain it.
Call for Application : United Nations Ocean Conference 2025 Fellowships
