The Heinz-Kühn-Foundation scholarships which support the training and professional development of junior journalists are now open.
The initiative, which is supported by the Heinz-Kühn-Foundation awards scholarships to young, budding journalists from North-Rhine- Westphalia for six-week or three-month reporting trips in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The Foundation also provides funds to enable candidates from developing countries to gain professional journalism experience in North-Rhine- Westphalia for up to three months.
The Heinz-Kühn-Foundation scholarships are also intended to enable junior journalists to further their professional development and continued training in new surroundings and to gain first-hand and in-depth knowledge of the customs, opinions and way of life in other countries.
Those eligible for scholarships under the Foundation are young journalists from North-Rhine-Westphalia and developing countries who are not more than 35 years of age, with substantial professional experience in journalism (a completed college education is desirable); those with a good command of the official language of their host country (candidates from abroad must at least have a basic knowledge of the German language) and those with a keen interest in development issues.
Beneficiaries of the Heinz-Kühn-Foundation scholarships are entitled to;
- a lump-sum contribution towards living expenses in the host country (with scholarship payments covering training and living expenses in the host country);
- a lump-sum allowance for flight and travelling expenses (the foundation pays a return air ticket for candidates from abroad);
- an allowance to cover costs of research materials (e.g. literature);
- an allowance for trips within the host country; and,
- (if necessary, for scholarship holders from abroad) a German language course of up to two months at the Düsseldorf or Bonn based Goethe-Institut.
Scholarship holders from North-Rhine-Westphalia have to determine and agree with the foundation a plan for their training and professional development in their host country and to follow this plan during the scholarship to the best of their ability.
The scholarship holders will also submit a detailed report of their stay in the host country within six weeks of completing the scholarship. All reports from scholarship holders are published in the yearbook of the Heinz-Kühn-Foundation.
Journalists who meet the requirements for a scholarship should first contact the foundation to discuss possible host countries and their topics of interest.
Applications for the following year must be received by November 30 through the foundation’s postal address; Ministerpräsident des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
Heinz-Kühn-Stiftung, Stadttor 1, 40190 Düsseldorf .
The following documents should be enclosed with the application:
- curriculum vitae in tabular form and a photograph;
- certificates of vocational training and present occupation;
- foreign languages certificates;
- German candidates should provide a detailed statement explaining their reasons for applying, their choice of host country and the proposed topic of research.
- Candidates from abroad should provide a letter of motivation in German.
Candidates from North-Rhine-Westphalia who are eligible and have been short-listed for a scholarship will be invited for an interview with a selection committee headed by a member of the managing board of the Heinz-Kühn-Foundation.
Decisions are taken by the board of trustees of the Heinz-Kühn-Foundation on the recommendation of the selection committee.
Applicants who need further information should contact; Mrs. Ute Maria Kilian in Düsseldorf, Telephone: +49 211 837 1274, Email: umkilian@stk.nrw.de
