A female Nigerian journalist, Helen Eni, has been named alongside 15 others as recipients of the 2015 Media Project Coaching and Leadership Fellowship Award.
Eni, a graduate of University of Lagos, has had a robust journalism career spanning almost two decades. She was once the editor of the Broadstreet Journal, a sister publication of the Tell Magazine, before she joined The Union Newspaper as the pioneer Saturday editor of the paper.
She is presently a member of the tabloid’s editorial board.
Other recipients of the award include: David Blevins, Ireland; Francis Brewer Jr., Liberia; Tito John Burgonio, Philippines; William Bustos, Columbia; Lucy Chattopadhyay, India; Marcos Deles, Philippines; Liu Dong, China; Barbara Hough Roda, United States; Edyth Kambalame, Malawi; Comfort Mussa, Cameroon; Anna Ntemiris, Germany; Daniel Raus, Czech Republic; Beletu Sorsu, Ethiopia; J. Sam Daniel Stalin, India; and Iris Voellnagel, Germany.
Paul Marshall, the Media Project president said that the journalists selected for the award practice their craft in different situations with some having broad freedom, while others had to labour under heavy censorship.
Marshall said he hoped the recipients would collectively develop leadership skills that transcend cultures and gain a better understanding of the challenges their colleagues face globally.
Also, according to a press statement signed by the general manager of the project, Caroline Comport, the organization selected the16 international journalists from 13 countries this year to bestow the prestigious award on.
The statement also said that the programme of activities marking this year’s award would begin with a weeklong workshop at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States where the fellows would participate in a series of interactive sessions designed to help them recognize universal leadership principles.
The training topics would include strategic and critical thinking, emotional intelligence, feedback, intrinsic motivation, conflict resolution, and collaboration. The core training sessions would be led by Jill Geisler, who holds the Bill Plante Chair in Leadership and Media Integrity at Loyola University, Chicago. Geisler has guided the leadership and management programmes of the Poynter Institute for 16 years.
Also, the fellows would also explore the intersection of journalism and faith with nationally syndicated “On Religion” columnist and Media Project Board Member, Terry Mattingly coordinating.
The fellowship among other things requires participants to make a year-long commitment to explore, hone, and implement their new coaching and leadership skills, as well as agree to mentor two journalists working in their home country.
The Media Project Coaching and Leadership Fellowship is a program aimed at building a global network of journalists dedicated to ethical decision-making and leadership values and who are willing to mentor the next generation of journalists.
Since its creation in 2012, forty-seven journalists from 31 countries have completed the fellowship programme.