We are pleased to announce that the East-West Center is accepting applications for the: Spring 2012 Jefferson Fellowships
The Jefferson Fellowships provide a three-week seminar and travel program for journalists from the United States and Asia Pacific to deepen their knowledge of regional issues and build international networks.
The theme for the Spring 2012 program is “Changing Cities: Innovations for an Urban World” with travel to Honolulu, Singapore, Guangzhou, and Seoul/Songdo. Participants will explore the challenges of urbanization, one of Asia’s most important mega-trends of the next decade, and the innovations and models that are effectively solving current problems and those that will shape the cities of the future. Below is a summary of the program.
The application deadline is Wednesday, February 15, 2012.
This special Jefferson Fellowships program will include participation in the East-West Center’s 3rd International Media Conference (http://www.ewc50.org/mediaconference2012 [2]) in Seoul, June
22-24, on the theme, “Networked News: How New Media is Shaping Stories in Asia and the Pacific.” Journalists will explore the impact of new media on journalism, broaden their knowledge of Asia Pacific regional issues and expand their network of professional contacts with journalists and experts from across the region.
Spring 2012 Jefferson Fellowships for Journalists
Dates: June 3-25, 2012
Theme: "Changing Cities: Innovations for an Urban World”
Travel Destinations: Honolulu, Hawaii; Singapore; Guangzhou, China;
Seoul/Songdo, South Korea
Who Can Apply: Working print, broadcast, and on-line journalists in the United States, Asia and the Pacific Islands. Five years of experience preferred. English fluency required.
Funding: Airfare, lodging, per diem and most other program expenses are provided through a grant from The Freeman Foundation of Stowe, Vermont. Participants are responsible for a $500 program fee and all applicable visa fees and any additional visa-related expenses. Additional funding is provided by the U.S. Embassy Islamabad for 2 Pakistani journalists.
See website for details.
Application Deadline: Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Information and applications: For more information about the program and how to apply, please visit: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/jefferson [3]
Theme: “Changing Cities: Innovations for an Urban World”
Across the Asia Pacific region, a massive demographic shift is underway. For the first time in human history, more people now live in cities than in rural areas. In the next 20 years, the world population will grow from 7 billion to 8.3 billion people. The urban population will grow even faster, from 3.5 billion to 5 billion. Hundreds of cities will be built and expanded to accommodate migration and growth – particularly in India and China.
Urbanization has led to expanded economic development, poverty reduction and increased wealth in the Asia Pacific region and cities are centers of knowledge and innovation. But rapidly growing cities across the region have struggled to manage demand for basic services, transportation infrastructure, housing, energy and employment. With humanity's urban footprint set to almost double in just 20 years, there is a new sense of urgency about finding ways to accommodate the future billions in sustainable, efficient and equitable cities that can foster productivity and continued economic growth. Cities, especially in Asia, are thus the focus of intensive efforts to find new approaches to energy efficiency, building design, transportation, waste management, water and sanitation, and energy
use. The investments will be huge, and companies around the world see their economic futures tied to solving the social, economic, environmental, and engineering challenges of this urban transformation, which will largely define the 21st century.
The Spring 2012 Jefferson Fellowships will provide journalists from Asia Pacific and the United States with an opportunity to explore this regional mega-trend and the models and innovations that are solving current problems and will be key to managing cities of the future. The Honolulu program will provide a forum for journalists to share perspectives from their countries and communities and gain broad perspectives on urbanization challenges for the U.S. and Asia. Participants will then travel to Singapore, which has developed and implemented some of the world's most advanced solutions to
address urbanization challenges such as road congestion, water management and housing, and has positioned itself as a regional hub and “living lab” of urban solutions for high-density and livable cities. In Guangzhou, participants will have a chance to see how China is adapting its existing cities to be more efficient with a new internationally award winning bus rapid transit (BRT) system, by far the largest in Asia and a model for other cities around the world, as well as other efforts to manage migration, pollution and industrialization. Korea is experimenting with “green growth,” setting aggressive low carbon goals, and as the most wired country in the world, is a test bed for new information technologies. Journalists will visit Songdo, an urban laboratory of digital-city innovation providing the focus and investments to re-engineer the way cities work. Companies are investing heavily in “smart cities” and are using Songdo to test new technologies that they hope to employ in cities across the world.
The program will close in Seoul with the special opportunity to participate in the [5]East-West Center’s 3rd International Media Conference (http://www.ewc50.org/mediaconference2012 [2]), June 22-24, on the theme “Networked News: How New Media is Shaping Stories in Asia and the Pacific.” The Conference is expected to draw more than 300 media professionals from around the world to engage with leading journalists, analysts, policymakers and one another through keynotes, panel discussions and workshops. Topics will include new media and its impact on journalism, society, and politics across the region, as well as analysis of current security, economic, energy and international relations issues. There also will be a visit to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.
The Jefferson Fellowships program provides journalists with the chance to gain on-the-ground perspectives on the most important regional issues; access high-level and important speakers and resources; and engage in three-weeks of intensive study and dialogue with colleagues from across the Asia Pacific region.
For more information about the program and how to apply, please visit their website: http://www.EastWestCenter.org/jefferson [4]
Program Contact: Ann Hartman, mailto:[email protected] [5] or (808) 944-7682
Apply Now! Deadline: Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The East-West Center (http://www.eastwestcenter.org [6]) promotes better relations and understanding between the United States and the nations of the Asia Pacific region through cooperative research, education and professional development programs.