MONDAY, JANUARY 18<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discourse Media collaborates with nine journalist fellows from around the world to report on energy poverty. This collaborative multimedia series will examine systemic issues driving energy poverty around the world, and potential paths forward.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discourse Media has selected the finalists for the Access to Energy Journalism Fellowship (AEJF) \u2014 a project aimed at enabling critical, deep reporting on energy poverty globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalists Elias Ntungwe Ngalame, Andrew Mambondiyani, Deepak Adhikari, Faisal Mahmud, Eric Bombicino, Christopher Pollon, Mike Ives, Fabiola Ortiz, and Felix Gaedtke will report on energy access throughout Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Bangladesh, Canada (x2), Kiribati, Mexico and Romania, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By supporting these journalists to report on the issue in their region, AEJF aims to deepen energy poverty reporting on the local level. By then bringing those reports together on a global platform in the form of a multimedia series, it will also paint a global picture of the energy poverty landscape, and examine what potential solutions exist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a huge opportunity to draw together an international body of reporting on what has long been an under-reported issue,\u201d says Christopher Pollon, a Vancouver-based journalist and Fellow who will also be acting as senior AEJF Editor. \u201cMore than anything else, it\u2019s a chance to spark a global conversation about what needs to change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project builds on Discourse Media\u2019s background of large-scale multimedia journalism projects that take a critical, yet solutions-oriented approach to reporting, and that leverage collaborations amongst journalists, media outlets and institutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AEJF is supported by the WGSI. WGSI\u2019s current initiatives are centred around the question: How can we use the latest science and solar technology to decrease our reliance on non-renewable energy sources and improve the well-being of the energy isolated? To respond to a gap in media discourse around the issue of energy access globally, Discourse Media created the AEJF project concurrent with the leadup to WGSI\u2019s OpenAccess Energy Summit, which takes place in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, the energy access conversation is not framed in a way that promotes problem solving,\u201d said Julie Wright, General\u00a0Manager of WGSI. \u201cBy facilitating deep reporting that cuts across disciplines and beats, we believe Discourse Media\u2019s Access to Energy\u00a0Journalism Fellowship will bring much needed nuance to the global dialogue around this complex issue.\u201d Simply selling more solar panels and building large scale solar farms is not the answer to global problems. We need to talk about getting energy to those who need it most, whether it comes from renewables like solar technology or other sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WGSI\u2019s support of the project does not imply endorsement of or influence over the content produced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contacts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n