Funding Available for Hostile Environment Training
Jason O'Hara, the inaugural Portenier bursary winner, takes part in a discussion during the Dart Center's 2015 Reporting Safely in Crisis Zones Course.
Freelance journalists and documentary filmmakers working to expose human rights abuses are eligible to apply for a $3,000 CDN bursary to underwrite the cost of hostile environment training. This funding is made possible by filmmaker and Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma board member Giselle Portenier.
"Human rights abuses continue unabated in the 21st century, and human rights defenders worldwide need the support of journalists and documentarians to help them shine a light on these injustices. Some of the worst abuses are committed against women and children, sometimes as a result of war, but often systematically, in the name of culture and religion," said Portenier. "The purpose of this bursary is to help ensure the safety of journalists and documentary filmmakers as they expose some of the most egregious abuses of human rights in the world today."
The bursary winner can choose from a range of approved course providers in Britain, Canada or the United States. The competition is open to qualified independent applicants of any nationality working on projects with funding attached. The rules are available on the Forum's website.
The deadline for applications is June 30, 2016.
The inaugural Portenier winner Jason O'Hara, a Toronto filmmaker working on a documentary about abuses in the clearance of favelas in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, used his bursary to take part in the Dart Center's 2015 Reporting Safely in Crisis Zones Course.