Launched in 2003, the Senior Journalists Seminar (SJS) is an immersive dialogue, study, and travel program intended to enhance media coverage and elevate public discourse regarding the role of religion and identity in the public sphere.
Designed for senior print, radio, broadcast, online, multimedia, and photo journalists from the United States and countries with substantial Muslim populations, SJS offers an opportunity for journalists to engage their peers, experts, and the citizens of those countries visited, including government, military and business officials, religious leaders, academics, journalists, authors, artists, filmmakers, musicians, educators and students, and community activists.
Thematically, this multi-country journalistic engagement may explore identity, experience, perceptions and representation of minority and religious groups, specifically Muslims; religious, faith and spiritual diversity; relational ontology and diverse eco-cultures; rights of religious and faith groups in societies; the political context, structures, and policy influencers that shape domestic and foreign policymaking; the impact of religious and cultural identity on the national and political identity of citizens; and initiatives to increase inter-and-intra-religious and cross-cultural understanding while reducing tensions and mitigating against extremism. Through facilitated dialogue and exchange, experiential learning, ‘deep hanging out,’ and sharing of art and popular culture, SJS further supports bridge-building across religious and identity communities within those countries visited. The media’s role in choosing, framing, and disseminating stories with a religious element and its effective shaping of public perception and US relations with the Muslim region is also explored.
SJS is a signature program at the EWC, supporting nuanced understanding and an informed regional perspective of religion’s role in the public sphere, specifically as it concerns U.S. geopolitical and cultural relations with Muslim majority regions gained by participating journalists. A growing professional network of SJS journalists continues to thrive, supporting informed, ongoing analysis, enhanced media coverage and increased public awareness of religious and minority experiences, religion’s role in the public sphere, and US relations with Muslim majority regions. To date, 195 journalists from 23 countries have participated in the SJS programs.
We are no longer accepting applications for the 2023 Jefferson Fellowships. Please check back later this year for information on applications for the 2024 program.
2023 Senior Journalists Seminar
Washington, DC; Honolulu, HI; Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand
2021 Senior Journalists Seminar (Virtual)
Washington, DC; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2019 Senior Journalists Seminar
Washington, DC; Chicago, Illinois; Dhaka & Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh; Istanbul, Turkey
Launched in 2003, the Senior Journalists Seminar (SJS) is an immersive dialogue, study, and travel program intended to enhance media coverage and elevate public discourse regarding the role of religion and identity in the public sphere.
Designed for senior print, radio, broadcast, online, multimedia, and photo journalists from the United States and countries with substantial Muslim populations, SJS offers an opportunity for journalists to engage their peers, experts, and the citizens of those countries visited, including government, military and business officials, religious leaders, academics, journalists, authors, artists, filmmakers, musicians, educators and students, and community activists.
Thematically, this multi-country journalistic engagement may explore identity, experience, perceptions and representation of minority and religious groups, specifically Muslims; religious, faith and spiritual diversity; relational ontology and diverse eco-cultures; rights of religious and faith groups in societies; the political context, structures, and policy influencers that shape domestic and foreign policymaking; the impact of religious and cultural identity on the national and political identity of citizens; and initiatives to increase inter-and-intra-religious and cross-cultural understanding while reducing tensions and mitigating against extremism. Through facilitated dialogue and exchange, experiential learning, ‘deep hanging out,’ and sharing of art and popular culture, SJS further supports bridge-building across religious and identity communities within those countries visited. The media’s role in choosing, framing, and disseminating stories with a religious element and its effective shaping of public perception and US relations with the Muslim region is also explored.
SJS is a signature program at the EWC, supporting nuanced understanding and an informed regional perspective of religion’s role in the public sphere, specifically as it concerns U.S. geopolitical and cultural relations with Muslim majority regions gained by participating journalists. A growing professional network of SJS journalists continues to thrive, supporting informed, ongoing analysis, enhanced media coverage and increased public awareness of religious and minority experiences, religion’s role in the public sphere, and US relations with Muslim majority regions. To date, 195 journalists from 23 countries have participated in the SJS programs.
We are no longer accepting applications for the 2023 Jefferson Fellowships. Please check back later this year for information on applications for the 2024 program.
2023 Senior Journalists Seminar
Washington, DC; Honolulu, HI; Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand
2021 Senior Journalists Seminar (Virtual)
Washington, DC; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia