Discourse Media announces second Access to Energy Journalism Fellowship

The Access to Energy Journalism Fellowship (AEJF) supports reporting that pushes the conversation about energy access and climate change forward.

Our first project had a global scope: we selected fellows from around the world to share stories of energy poverty and innovation. The result: Power Struggle, a multimedia platform that presents an in-depth picture of the issue globally. For our 2016/2017 fellowship, we are offering four fellowships specifically focused on reporting in sub-Saharan Africa.

Why? Sub-Saharan Africa is the most energy-poor region in the world, with 13 per cent of the world’s population and only four per cent of its energy demand. In the past decade, sub-Saharan Africa’s economy has expanded rapidly and energy use has risen by 45 per cent. Projections forecast the continuation of this growth. Fast-forward to 2040: almost one billion people are projected to gain access to energy. But it’s not that simple. The population will increase too, meaning that without implementing solutions, 530 million people are expected to be without access to electricity in 2040, especially those living in the region’s rural areas.

Our fellowship is an opportunity to report on stories of energy access challenges and stories of solutions. It’s open to both staff reporters and freelancers. Preference will be given to reporters who have deep knowledge of the communities they plan to report on. Applications are due by midnight Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, Dec. 7th, 2016, and details can be found here. The four fellows selected will be announced in January 2017.

The AEJF is administered and produced by Discourse Media through financial support from the Waterloo Global Science Initiative.