By Kurt Lawton, International Committee Chair
To AAEA members age 35 and younger:
Deadline: January 12, 2018
The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) has opened the application process for the 2018 IFAJ/Alltech Young Leaders Award. Each of IFAJ’s 43 member guilds may submit one nominee for the prestigious award, which recognizes outstanding young journalists who demonstrate great potential to become leaders in the agricultural journalism industry.
Ten young journalists—age 35 or younger by December 31, 2017—are selected by an international jury for the prize, which includes a 1,000-Euro stipend to attend the 2018 IFAJ Congress in Wageningen, The Netherlands, in July. The Young Leaders also participate in a Boot Camp in the days prior to Congress, which includes professional development and networking workshops and farm visits in the Wageningen area.
“At Alltech, we believe in supporting and nurturing young minds,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “Each year we partner with the IFAJ as they search the world for the future leaders of agri-journalism. We encourage young journalists who are passionate about communicating and connecting the agri-industry to a global audience to apply for the 2018 program.”
Adds Steve Werblow, IFAJ secretary general, “Over the past 12 years, the IFAJ/Alltech Young Leaders program has helped build the careers of scores of outstanding journalists and communicators, and has also helped build IFAJ. Throughout the world, alumni of the Young Leaders program have become indispensable to their guilds, and several now serve on IFAJ’s Executive committee.”
To apply, fill out the online application by January 12, 2018 at http://ifaj.org/our-programmes/young-leaders/. All AAEA member applicants will be forwarded to Kurt Lawton, AAEA International Committee chair, then the committee will select its nominee and submit his or her application by February 9, 2018.
Applications must include three samples of work. Nominees must be willing to attend Congress and Boot Camp.
Check out this story that highlights the experiences of previous winners of this award: http://ag.alltech.com/en/blog/packing-ag-journalism-boot-camp