Overview

Recharge, learn, make friends

The Asia Journalism Fellowship (AJF) brings together seasoned journalists from across the region to learn, collaborate, and build lasting professional and personal connections.

Organised for Asian journalists, and held in Singapore, the Fellowship has been welcoming participants to our shores for an immersive  programme each year since 2009. The AJF started as a three-month programme in Singapore. During this period, the Fellows discuss journalism, pick up new skills, exchange ideas, get to know one another and Singapore.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted AJF in 2020, as it did all aspects of our lives, and the programme was not held that year. We did not let that stop us; and the programme adapted and returned in 2021 with an online edition, held over Zoom for six weeks. Almost everyone who applied in 2020 was willing to be considered for the online edition of AJF 2021.

In 2022, with travel restrictions easing in many parts of Asia, AJF adopted a hybrid format with four weeks online, followed by two weeks in Singapore. We also invited the 2021 Fellows to Singapore for two weeks, so we had two batches of Fellows in town for a fortnight of seminars, visits, dialogues and deepening their understanding of one another’s countries, seeing Singapore close-up, and strengthening their bonds of friendship.

In 2023 and 2024, AJF continued to evolve – running four weeks online and four weeks in person in Singapore. We recognise that newsroom challenges have made it increasingly difficult for Fellows to take three months off work. The experience of our “pandemic Fellows” and their feedback tells us it is possible to continue delivering the best of AJF with a mix of online and face-to-face programmes. AJF remains an opportunity to recharge, learn, and make new friends for life.

Whether online or in person, AJF offers journalists the opportunity to come together to exchange ideas, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another’s experience.

Here are some memorable moments from AJF 2015 to 2024 which capture the energy, camaraderie, and cross-cultural exchanges. Each cohort of Fellows has its own stories, and together they form a growing network shaping the future of media in Asia.

We invite you to join the next AJF cohort and be part of this story.

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