Professor Nic Cheeseman is launching a new mentorship scheme through Democracy in Africa for young commentators and journalists from East Africa who would like career and writing advice and support.
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Following discussions surrounding Prof Nic Cheeseman’s column in the Daily Nation, we are setting up a free mentoring scheme for aspiring journalists from East Africa. The mentors will be a small group of leading academic and media figures from the region and beyond who will give advice and encouragement to three people a year for the lifetime of the scheme. Those selected will receive:
- Career advice.
- Advice on how to pitch, research and prepare articles.
- Regular feedback and advice on articles including editing suggestions.
- Support to access training programmes on a range of topics.
- They will also be able to apply for small grants ($25-$150) to cover some of the expenses of researching stories. Please note that while the mentors will try to help those on the scheme to place articles and find jobs, the scheme does not provide a salary.
If you would like to apply for the mentoring scheme please send the following to editorsdia@gmail.com by 30 March 2018:
- a complete CV.
- an original article written solely by yourself on a topic related to democracy, politics and human rights in East Africa that demonstrates your interests and abilities (1,200 words max). This should be about a contemporary event/story and written as if for publication on a blog/newspaper.
- a short (one page max) application letter explaining why you want to join the scheme, what you hope to get out of it, and setting out your career so far.
Please note that preference will be given to early career individuals living and working in East Africa. Those with a full-time contract in the media will not be eligible. The scheme will last for 12 months, after which three new mentees will be selected, but we aim to remain engaged with those who come through the scheme for as long as this is useful.
The full list of mentors will be shared soon. Successful applicants will be informed by 20 March 2018. We will endeavour to write back to everyone who applies whether they are succesful or not, but please bear with us if we get a large number of applications.
Please note: this scheme is a voluntary venture and has no funding base. If you would be interested in financially supporting or sponsoring the scheme, please contact editorsdia@gmail.com.
