The Jefferson Fellowships program was launched in 1967 to enhance public understanding through the news media of cultures, issues and trends in the Asia Pacific region, broadly defined as Asia, the Pacific Islands and the United States. The Fellowships provide U.S. and Asia Pacific journalists with an opportunity to broaden their understanding of Asia Pacific issues and build a professional network through one week of dialogue with professional colleagues and experts at the East-West Center, followed by a two-week study tour to cities in Asia or the U.S. 

Theme:  The Right Climate for Confronting Climate Change?

The new United States presidential administration of Barack Obama has increased attention to climate change in advance of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in December 2009. With this backdrop, the Fall 2009 Jefferson Fellowships program will explore the ability of U.S. domestic and foreign policy to confront the important economic challenges and opportunities involved in addressing climate change and its consequences. While near-term costs may affect the livelihoods of Americans already struggling in the current U.S. recession, addressing climate change also presents opportunities to strengthen important parts of the economy and create jobs. In addition, the Fall 2009 program will examine how the issue of climate change may serve as a way for the United States to rebuild partnerships and alliances around the world and to bolster national security. 

The program will begin in Honolulu with one week of discussions, field visits and participant presentations that explore the challenge of climate change throughout the Asia Pacific-U.S. region. Participants will share impacts, responses and policy challenges from the perspectives of their own countries. The study tour will focus on policy challenges and opportunities for the United States through visits to key destinations on the U.S. mainland.

Program Dates:  October 25 - November 14, 2009

Study Tour Destinations:  Monterey and Palo Alto, California; Boulder, Colorado; Washington, DC

Who Can Apply:  Working print, broadcast, and online journalists in the United States, the Pacific Islands, and Asia with a minimum of five years of professional experience.  Applicants must have the ability to communicate in English in a professional, multi-cultural environment. 

Application Deadline:  Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Funding:  The Jefferson Fellowships are supported from a grant from The Freeman Foundation.  The grant funds economy class, roundtrip airfare to and from Honolulu, Hawaii as well as program-related air and ground transportation, lodging, and meals for participating journalists.  A modest per diem is also provided.  Participants are responsible for all applicable visa fees and any additional visa-related expenses. 

News organizations are also asked to support their employees' participation by cost-sharing whenever possible.  An "Employers Statement of Support" is a required part of the application. While financial assistance from the employer is not required, employers are encouraged to provide support to their Jefferson Fellows as a demonstration of their commitment to the program.

For a document with all program information please download the Program Announcement

Applicants must submit the Jefferson Fellowships application form and

• A letter outlining your issues of interest, a brief description of your news organization, and what you expect to accomplish if an award is granted. Please suggest topics you propose to address in your paper and presentation at the East-West Center (3 page maximum).
• A letter of recommendation on official letterhead from your supervisor describing your suitability for the Fellowship and the benefit the organization hopes to derive from your participation in the program.
• Names, addresses, phone/fax numbers and e-mail of three people who may be contacted by the Center as references. Two of these references should be people outside your news organization. 
• The “Employer’s Statement of Support” form completed by your employer (form is included in the 3-page application).

NOTE: Samples of your work are not required. If you wish to include samples, please do so via web links to articles.

Program and Application Downloads:

Application Instructions (1 page)

Fillable Adobe PDF version of application form (3 pages)

Fillable MS Word version of application form (3 pages)

Application deadline is Wednesday, June 17, 2009.  Incomplete or late applicants will not be considered. 

Applications may be sent by e-mail, fax or post as follows:

Email:  jefferson@eastwestcenter.org

Fax:  1-808-944-7600 (ATTN:  Jefferson Fellowships)

Post:

East-West Seminars
ATTN:  Jefferson Fellowships
East-West Center
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawai‘i  96848-1601, U.S.A.

If you have questions about the application process, please contact: 1-808-944-7682

Ann Hartman
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96848-1601
Phone: (808) 944-7619; Fax: (808) 944-7600
Email: jefferson@eastwestcenter.org

The Spring 2009 Jefferson Fellowships, May 9-31, 2009, will focus on "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Asia." Journalists will spend five days in Honolulu, Hawaii followed by a 16-day study tour to Tokyo, Japan and Guangzhou,  Shenzhen and Hong Kong SAR, China.

Congratulations to the Spring 2009 Jefferson Fellows:

• Yandhrie ARVIAN, Writer, Tempo Weekly News Magazine, Jakarta, Indonesia
• CHENG Mingxia, Senior Editor, Economic Observer, Beijing, China
• CHUA Mui Hoong, Senior Writer, Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore     
• Judy FARAH, Senior Editor, KFBK Radio, Sacramento, California, United States
• Whitney FITZSIMMONS, Presenter, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), New South Wales, Australia              
• Rana FOROOHAR, Senior Editor, Newsweek, New York, United States
• Jiwamol KANOKSILP, Finance Editor, The Nation, Bangkok, Thailand
• Jennifer MacDONALD, Associate Producer, CBS News – 60 Minutes, New York, United States
• Mohd. Shahed SIDDIQUE, Senior Reporter, The Daily Jugantor, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Deepshikha SIKARWAR, Senior Assistant Editor, The Economic Times, New Delhi, India
• TAKAGUCHI Asako, Staff Reporter, Economic News Section, Kyodo News, Tokyo, Japan
• Graeme WOOD, Staff Editor, The Atlantic, Washington D.C., United States 

The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Asia

The financial crisis that began in the United States quickly spread around the world, highlighting the interdependence of the global financial and economic system. The deepening recession in the United States and Western Europe is creating ripple effects in many export-dependent Asian economies that could be more severe than those affecting the United States. China, especially the southern province of Guangdong, already has seen steep declines in export demand, while a home-made property bubble is deflating as well. Massive job losses for migrant factory workers have resulted in social upheaval and an uncertain future for millions. China faces the daunting challenge of a sharp economic slowdown and with it, the potential for widespread social unrest. Japan, the world’s second largest economy and a key creditor to the United States, has officially declared recession. While it is still struggling with its home-grown financial crisis of the 1990s, its export-dependent economy has been hard-hit due to slowing demand abroad and an appreciating currency. Japan’s economic woes are compounded by political uncertainty as the country waits for elections to be called.

This Jefferson Fellowships program will provide U.S. and Asia Pacific journalists an opportunity to explore the economic, social and political impacts of the financial crisis in the United States and Asia. Fellows will share perspectives from their own countries in a week long dialogue at the East-West Center in Honolulu, followed by two-weeks of study tour travel to see how the crisis is playing out in Japan and China, Asia’s two largest economies.

In Tokyo, Fellows will examine how Japan will manage an increasingly dismal economic outlook at home while also playing a role in a cooperative global effort. A journey through China’s export corridor from Guangzhou to Shenzhen will provide journalists with a firsthand perspective on what may be fundamental economic and social shifts connected to this financial crisis. Finally, in Hong Kong, Fellows will discuss the impact of the financial crisis on Asian markets and the long-term implications for the increasingly interdependent political and economic relationships among Japan, China, the United States and the rest of Asia. A looming question is how Japan, China and the U.S. will address the huge global imbalances—savings deficits and over consumption in the U.S., and savings and export surpluses in much of Asia—that had a role in creating this crisis. A rapid and disjointed unwinding of these complex relationships could have catastrophic consequences.