Islamabad-The British High Commission Monday organised a pre-departure briefing for seven Pakistani journalists who have been awarded the ‘Chevening South Asia Journalism Fellowship 2017’.
The briefing was attended by this year’s scholars from Islamabad, previous Chevening SAJP scholars and officials from the British High Commission. Scholars who had been selected from Lahore, Karachi and Quetta joined the briefing through Skype.
The seven scholars who have been selected for the 2017 Chevening South Asia Journalism Fellowship are Nida Tahseen and Muhammad Irtaza from the Nation, Adil Ali, Dawood Shah, Kamran Muhammad, Dr Muhammad Zubair Iqbal and Hina Ali.
Speaking at the briefing, the Press Attaché and Deputy Head of Communications at the British High Commission Andrew Cuff said the South Asia Journalism Programme was unique for this region and the fellowship was a great professional development opportunity to identify and support the next generation of media leaders from the South Asia region.
“The scholars selected this year are from across Pakistan and represent some of Pakistan’s most highly respected media organisations. I am confident that these journalists will benefit greatly from the UK’s tradition of academic excellence and make positive contributions to the media landscape in Pakistan,” Cuff said.
The British embassy official added, “This year (2017) also marks the 70th Anniversary of UK-Pakistan relations and our Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme is an important part of the great relationship we share with Pakistan.”
The Chevening SAJP is a fully-funded residential programme run at the University of Westminster, aimed at mid-career journalists from South Asia.
The selected journalists will participate in seven weeks of lectures, visits, and discussions that introduce them to key UK academics and political figures. They will also spend time meeting their peers in some of the UK’s top media organisations, as well as running a symposium on a topic of their choice in the final week
Since 2012, 19 journalists from Pakistan have participated in the programme.
Chevening fellowship offers talented Pakistani journalists the opportunity to undertake a bespoke programme titled ‘Good Governance in a Changing World: the Media, Politics, and Society’, at the University of Westminster.
