Five BC Journalists receive fellowships to cover sub-Saharan Africa
development issues

VANCOUVER , Nov. 25 /CNW/ - The Jack Webster Foundation today announced five recipients of the fifth Seeing the World through New Eyes fellowship established in partnership with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

These five BC journalists will visit Uganda and Ethiopia in March 2010 to experience firsthand reporting from developing countries. Recipients are:

    
    -  Tara Carman, The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver
    -  Andrew Hopkins, Astral Media, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek
    -  Molly McNulty, Terrace Standard, Terrace
    -  Darcy-Anne Wintonyk, CTV British Columbia, Vancouver
    -  Nancy Macdonald, Maclean's, Vancouver
    

"These fellowships benefit BC journalists who want an opportunity to see beyond their borders and view the developing world from a perspective of the people who live there," said Deb Sweeney , Co-Chair of the Jack Webster Foundation.

"By arranging these fellowships with the support of CIDA, it is the Foundation's goal to offer British Columbia journalists an experience that will widen their horizons in a globally significant way."

The fellowship includes a training seminar in November and travel to Uganda and Ethiopia in March, 2010 with project team leader Don Cayo , Vancouver Sun columnist and veteran reporter on global development issues. Neither the Jack Webster Foundation nor CIDA will have editorial control on the resulting work of the fellowship recipients.

Seeing the World through New Eyes is a juried competition for BC-based journalists aged 30 or younger, or in their first five years of journalism. The competition is open to fulltime employees of media organizations or freelancers with a record of printed or aired work. Seventeen entries from a diverse section of BC print and broadcast journalists were reviewed by the jury panel ( Don Cayo , Webster Foundation Trustee Cam Avery, John Richards , Professor, Public Policy at Simon Fraser University and CBC producer Paisley Woodward.)

In 2009, five journalists traveled to Peru and Honduras in the fourth CIDA-funded Seeing the World Through New Eyes program. A fellowship to Sri Lanka is planned for 2010/2011.

The Jack Webster Foundation, named after the late broadcaster who was Western Canada's best known and most influential reporter, was established in 1986 to recognize excellence in British Columbia journalism.

The work of the Foundation is made possible in part by the generous sponsorship of BCLC, Bell Canada , CGA Association, HSBC Bank Canada , CN, Labatt Breweries, Terasen Gas, Port Metro Vancouver and WorkSafeBC.

For further information: Nora Newlands, Executive Director, Jack Webster Foundation, Tel. [phone], Fax [phone], Email: [email protected], Website: www.jackwebster.com