The International Reporting Project (IRP) is pleased to announce a group reporting trip focusing on health and development issues in Ecuador on October 18-29, 2015.
Ecuador, a country of nearly 16 million, has made major strides in healthcare and development, including dramatic improvements in healthcare efficiency.
Yet many challenges remain. There are discrepancies between the quality of care and resources available at public and private facilities. Residents of rural areas may not receive the resources available in urban centers, and neglected tropical diseases persist.
Fellows on the twelve-day reporting trip will examine a range of issues related to health and development in Ecuador. We will focus on topics of nutrition and agriculture, education, access to roads and electricity, sanitation and water, the impact of infectious and neglected diseases, reduction of poverty, increased use of technology, gender equality and the status of indigenous peoples and migrants. Fellows will meet with key government leaders, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, members of the business community, religious and media leaders and others.
How to Apply
The Ecuador trip is open to innovative journalists, bloggers, influential social media practitioners, and other media professionals. Unfortunately, this trip is not open to students.
Priority will be given to applications from citizens or residents of Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States.
All candidates must complete an application form and provide a detailed essay of at least 800 words describing the types of stories they might pursue.
Participants will be expected to post frequent stories – such as articles, blog posts, infographics, interactive stories, slideshows, social media posts, video and audio clips – before, during and after the trip.
More Details
The IRP will purchase the fellows’ roundtrip air tickets to Ecuador and will pay for visas, hotel costs, local transportation and several meals. Fellows who wish to extend their stay after the fellowship will have the option to arrange that at their own expense.
All fellows on the Ecuador trip are required to participate in the sessions arranged for the group program. Much of the value of a group reporting trip comes from both meetings that IRP arranges and the interactions the fellows have with each other. Some independent reporting time will be included in the schedule. However, if you prefer to have more flexibility in your reporting schedule, we strongly encourage you to extend your trip or to apply for our individual reporting fellowships in the future.
All of the stories will be republished on the IRP site and co-owned by the fellow (or her/his distribution partners, depending on arrangements) and the IRP. In addition, the work produced as a result of the trip may be posted, with permission of the fellow, on the social media channels of the IRP funders. This trip is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.