Village Square announces its fellowship

Village Square is launching one of its kind journalism fellowship to facilitate 10 young journalists to collect and tell incredible stories from rural India. While there is no prescribed theme for the stories, they must fit within the content arc of Village Square. 

Village Square brings out stories and insights from rural India. While we cover the themes of education, health, women empowerment and livelihood, we are also interested in stories art, culture and recreation in rural India.

In the first cohort of the Village Square Fellowship, we will select 10 young journalists who are passionate about telling stories of rural India. The fellowship will provide an unmatched opportunity to study, understand and analyse the lives of 2/3 of Indians who live in villages.

About the Fellowship:

The Village Square Fellowship aims to encourage young, emerging, and passionate journalists to leverage storytelling as a tool for social change. The purpose of the Fellowship is to provide an opportunity to young changemakers to bring a fresh, inspirational perspective on rural lives.

Often the stories of rural India and its changemakers are missing from the mainstream media discourse. The mainstream media platforms – both digital and print – solely focus on the stories of rural distress and alienation, never really giving an account of what it is like to be living in India’s rural. 

The Village Square Fellowship is a step towards giving adequate voice to rural India – through nurturing and giving opportunities to dynamic, young journalists.

The fellowship will focus on rural stories and insights from the domains of education, health, sanitation, livelihood, micro-enterprises and arts and culture.

The stories (articles, videos, photo essays) produced by the fellows will be published on the Village Square website and social media platforms. 

Further, the fellows will get an opportunity to engage, learn and work closely with mentor, industry experts and senior editors. Village Square Youth Hub will curate a structured learning program for the induction and continue to support the fellows during the fellowship.

Last date to apply –  30th September 2023

Fellowship duration – 9 months (November 2023 – August 2024).

What is there for fellows?

– Community of like-minded people who are passionate about providing a voice for rural India in the mainstream media narrative

– Structured learning program that builds on the Fellow’s journalistic knowledge and skills

– Mentorship from industry experts within the Village Square network

– Stipend of 35000 per month (on a monthly basis on completion of stories within time)

– Certificate will be awarded on successful completion of the fellowship 

Apart from reporting stories every month, fellows will be encouraged to highlight their work during fellowship using social media, be the Village Square ambassadors, and do social media promotion and videos with Village Square: 

Selection and Eligibility Criteria:

• Candidate must be between the age of 22-28 
• A bachelor’s degree in mass media/journalism
• Candidates with 2 or more years of relevant experience will be preferred
• Ability to live and work in remote, rural areas 
• Must demonstrate an interest and understanding of rural India and its issues and challenges 
• Comfort with multimedia and other innovative storytelling techniques. 

How to Apply and Timeline:

• Initial application through filling out the Google Form – (Deadline 30th September 2023)
• In-person/online interviews  – First week of October
• Written Test – First week of October
• The final list of fellows selected – Third week of October
• Training and orientation – First week of November
• Fellowship commencement – First week of November

Deliverables:

The Village Square Fellows will be expected to produce a minimum of 18-20 deliverables, which can be articles (800 words), photo essays or short video stories or a mix of all.

In case of any queries or clarification about the fellowship, please get in touch with Prachi Sharma, Fellowship Coordinator. She can be reached at prachi@villagesquare.in.