ASTANA – Assel Satubaldina, a managing editor at The Astana Times, has been selected for the Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship (RAF), a prominent international journalism program run under the auspices of the United Nations (UN). The program brings together top reporters from developing countries to deepen understanding in international affairs and the UN’s work.
Photo credit: Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.com
Satubaldina, who brings more than 10 years of experience in multimedia reporting, has been selected from hundreds of applicants. She now has the opportunity to join a cohort of 17 journalists from around the world for a four-week virtual program scheduled to run in September and October this year.
Assel Satubaldina. Photo credit: personal archive
“I am very honored to join the Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship and excited to build long-lasting relations with colleagues from different parts of the world. My goal in this program is not only to expand my knowledge, but also amplify the voice of my region of Central Asia and my home country, Kazakhstan, in global decision-making,” she said.
As part of the program, journalists will attend special briefings and interview senior UN officials. In the previous years, fellows met with the UN Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly, and Permanent Representatives to the United Nations from their country.
The fellowship was launched in December 1980 by the UN General Assembly. The program, which was formerly called the DPI Training Program for Broadcasters and Journalists from Developing Countries, was renamed in 2003 in memory of Reham Al-Farra, a 29-year-old UN Public Information Officer from Jordan who was killed in the bombing of the UN office in Baghdad in August 2003.
