The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship

The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship is organized by the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) and the friends and family of Elizabeth Neuffer, a Boston Globe reporter who was killed in May 2003 while covering the war in Iraq. The fellowship supports women journalists who report on human rights and social justice issues, and combines research opportunities at CIS and other Boston-area universities with opportunities at the New York Times and the Boston Globe.

Neuffer Fellows-who are resident at MIT's Center for International Studies-design a program that combines academic research with practical experience covering human rights. They also play a key role in the Elizabeth Neuffer Forum on Human Rights and Journalism, a program held each May. For more information or to apply, contact the IWMF at neuffer@iwmf.org.

Jackee Budesta Batanda—a Ugandan journalist who has reported on the vicious acid attacks of women as "revenge crimes" and the targeted murders of albinos—has been selected as the 2011-2012 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. The award is offered through the International Women's Media Foundation and is sponsored in part by the Center for International Studies at MIT.

Batanda, 31, a reporter for the Global Press Institute, plans to create a reporting skills workshop for Ugandan journalists after her seven-month fellowship. A gifted writer and photographer, Batanda holds a master's degree in forced migration studies from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and an undergraduate degree in communications from Makerere University in Uganda. Batanda, a communications officer for the Refugee Law Project of Makerere University's law faculty, received Uganda's 2010 Young Achievers Award and a Justice in Africa program fellowship.

Amid a brutal crackdown on journalists covering anti-government protests, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has denounced local and international media outlets as "enemies." In this atmosphere, Batanda became determined to report and research "closing media spaces in African nations" during the fellowship when she studies at the MIT Center for International Studies and other Boston-area universities. She will also spend time at The New York Times and The Boston Globe.

Press Release You can contact Jackee at: jbatanda@mit.edu.