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Selection Committee | Former Fellows


**Call for Applications now open for 2011 Fellowships**

 

Introduction

The Wilson Center-Washington Post Fellowship for Latin American Journalists, a joint initiative by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Washington Post generously supported by the Open Society Foundations Media Program, is a three-week immersive experience to support print and online investigative journalists from Latin American and Caribbean nations. Participants experience in situ a world-class newsroom and the political culture of Washington while conducting original and groundbreaking research on an issue of local, national, or regional importance in Latin America and the Caribbean or in their relationship with the United States.


History

The Wilson Center-Washington Post Fellowship for Latin American Journalists was launched as a two-week program in 2008 with funding from the Wilson Center and initially limited to four countries: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, and Mexico. In its first year, the program brought five outstanding journalists to Washington, D.C. to report on an issue of importance to their home countries concerning hemispheric relations. The results of their investigations were published by the journalists' domestic media as well as by The Post and the Wilson Center on their respective websites. Generous support from the Open Society Foundation's Media Program has since allowed us to continue and expand the fellowship, opening the competition throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and lengthening the fellowship to three weeks. Since the program's inception, 15 journalists from Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela have been awarded fellowships.


Fellowship Goals

The Wilson Center-Washington Post Fellowship for Latin American Journalists seeks to develop the capacity of journalists from Latin America and the Caribbean, improving their investigative skills and empowering them to cover significant public issues in ways that increase the transparency and accountability of their governments and promote greater civic engagement among their audiences. As an added benefit, the fellowship fosters relationships between U.S. and Latin American journalists that allow them to share information and uncover issues and opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed.


Fellowship Experience

Fellows receive the unique opportunity to conduct their research under the mentorship of top investigative and political reporters while also gaining access to other information, resources, and expertise from The Washington Post as they enter into direct contact with public and private institutions. The fellowship includes travel and lodging, plus a weekly living-expense stipend; a desk in the newsroom of The Washington Post; access to the newspaper's research and database resources, reporters, editors, and research staff; and the mentorship of a Washington Post reporter. A number of structured activities are coordinated during the fellows; stay to give them exposure to newsworthy issues and key actors in the policy community.