The East-West Center is now accepting applications for the 2020 Senior Journalists Seminar, which will bring together 10-12 multinational journalists for an immersive three week dialogue, study, and travel program to Washington, DC; Charlotte, North Carolina; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Seminar will begin in Washington, DC with an overview of the American political system, including the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, federalism, the separation of powers, and congressional influencers on foreign policymaking. Other foundational sessions will examine the religious make-up, diversity of religious identity, and the prayer and attendance practices of the American public. The Washington, DC study tour will also feature participant presentations summarizing religion’s role in their home countries. In Charlotte, journalists will experientially explore America’s multicultural and multi-religious society, the experiences of minority religious communities, initiatives bridging faith divides, and how religious identity is expressed in the literary, visual, performing, and media arts. As the study tour in Charlotte is intended to coincide with the Republican National Convention, journalists will also have unique access to American voters, including both Trump supporters and opponents.Throughout the U.S. study tour, journalists will consider the geopolitical and cultural engagement of the U.S. with Muslim majority regions. Interactive experiences will also be included to deepen journalists’ understanding of Islamic culture through the arts and new media. Travel to Colombo, Sri Lanka and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will contextualize and compare religion’s role in the public sphere across democratic nations; provide first-hand exposure to and more nuanced understanding of the diversity of religious societies; and build the professional networks of participating journalists. Finally, the media’s role in choosing, framing, and disseminating stories with a religious element and its effective shaping of public perception and U.S. relations with Muslim majority regions will be explored.
Dates: August 19 – September 11, 2020
Study Destinations: Washington, DC; Charlotte, North Carolina; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia **The study tour in Charlotte is intended to coincide with the Republican National Convention**
Funding: The 2020 Senior Journalists Seminar is funded by the East-West Center, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute and supports the participation of 10-12 journalists from the United States and countries with substantial Muslim populations. All participants are responsible for the Senior Journalists Seminar fee of USD$800.00, visa fees, health insurance and airline baggage charges. EWC encourages additional participant cost-sharing of programmatic costs and considers cost-sharing in the selection of applicants.
Eligibility: Media professionals from print, broadcast, online, and multi-media news organizations, including editors, reporters, columnists, editorial writers, producers, bloggers, videographers, and photo journalists with a minimum of ten years of experience are eligible to apply. The Senior Journalists Seminars will include a total of 10-12 journalists from the United States and countries with substantial Muslim populations. For more information regarding eligibility, please visit the Senior Journalists Seminar webpage.
Deadline: Thursday, March 12, 2020
For more information, please visit the Senior Journalists Seminar webpage.
You may also email sjs@eastwestcenter.org or call Liz A. Dorn at 808-944-7368.
