Northside journalists to report on development issues

SIX journalists, including some from the Northside, have been awarded funding under a prestigious media fund, run by Irish Aid, the Government’s programme of assistance to developing countries.

The Simon Cumbers Media Fund, which has provided the support for this project, was established by Irish Aid in memory of Irish journalist Simon Cumbers, who was killed in Saudi Arabia while working with the BBC in 2004. The aim of the fund is to assist and promote more and better quality media coverage of development issues in the Irish media.

Under the fund, journalists are invited to submit proposals for coverage of a development issue, which will involve travel to a developing country.

Two funding rounds – one in summer and one in winter – are held each year.

Niamh Griffin, from Clontarf, received funding to travel to Bangladesh to explore the ways in which women in the country are fighting for better working conditions. Her project will look at how women in Ireland can help them to overcome these challenges.

Niamh will produce a cross media project which will be published in the Irish Mail on Sunday, on Worldandmedia. com, and broadcast on Coolock-based community radio station NearFM.

Jennifer Duggan, from Glasnevin, was funded to travel to Burma/Myanmar ahead of the 2015 presidential election, to examine how the country is faring politically and economically since emerging from half a century of military rule. Jennifer will produce a cross media project which will be published in The Irish Times and broadcast on RTÃ? World Report.

Laurence Boland, from Phibsborough, received funding to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he will capture student ecopreneurs at work in the Luki Biosphere reserve in the Experimental Botanic Gardens as they grow, harvest, market, and sell their quality controlled medicinal crops.

Lar will produce a photo essay from his trip, which will be published in the Irish Medical Times and on WorldandMedia.com.

Lar was also funded to produce an exhibition of photographs from his project which will be exhibited in the Organic Centre in County Leitrim.

Cathal McMahon, from Drumcondra, was funded to travel to the Philippines to explore the region where Typhoon Haiyan hit last year and look at how it is recovering, including with the support of Irish people and the Irish Government.

Cathal will produce a cross media project which will be published in the Irish Daily Mirror and broadcast on UTV Radio.

Joseph O’Connor from Ashtown received funding to travel to Palestine, where he will look at the role that Palestinian women are playing in technology and how innovation and entrepreneurship is helping them break down barriers socially, politically, and culturally.

Joseph O’Connor will produce a cross media project which will be published on Silicon Republic, Worldandmedia .com, and Business Ireland, and broadcast on NearFM.

Michael O’Kane, originally from Skerries, was funded to travel to Vietnam to report on two young Vietnamese nationals who are presently studying in Ireland at the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Michael will produce a radio piece which will be broadcast on RTÃ? Radio 1.

The successful applicants’ projects will be published across 19 local and national media outlets and the average amount of funding awarded was just over

?¬3,400. The maximum allocation under the Fund is

?¬10,000.

Further information and a list of previous projects funded under the Simon Cumbers Media Fund are available at: www.simoncumbersmediafund.ie.