Oyewole, Daily Trust reporter to participate in US journalism fellowship
By Abdulateef Aliyu/
A journalist with the Daily Trust Newspapers, Nurudeen Adeyinka Oyewoleย has won nomination to participate in the 2017 international
journalism fellowship being organized by the East-West Center, Honolulu, United States.
Also known as Senior Journalists Seminar (SJS), the fellowship is a
21-day immersive study and tour of three countries in three continents.ย Nominated fellows for the 2017 edition are scheduled to engageย in Washington DC and Minneapolis in Minnesota, United States
(North America); Manila and Cotabato City in Philippines (Asia) and
Rabat in Morocco (Africa).
The East-West Center was established by the US Congress in 1960 to
serve as a resource for information on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, and policy options. The Center has as a key objective of 2017SJS, the sharingย of knowledge and perspectives that takes place among the
journalists. Central to this sharing are papers and presentations preparedย by each journalist related to the seminarโs objectives.
The papers are expected to address religious compositions in
journalistsโ respective countries, the constitutional rights and legislationย that protect and/or limit religious freedoms, how religion
impact domestic politics and policymaking, how minority religions includedย (or not) in politics, economics and culture as well as the
role being played by religion in foreign policymaking.
Fellows are also scheduled to participate in a meeting with the State Departmentย officials and the U.S. Pentagon regarding international mediaย engagement and countering extremism, among other high-leveled
meetings, deliberations and engagements.
Specifically, the 2017SJS will begin in Washington, DC with an overviewย of the American political system, including the U.S. Constitutionโs First Amendment, federalism, the separation of powers,
and congressional influencers on foreign policymaking. Other
foundational sessions will examine the religious make-up, diversity of religiousย identity, and the prayer and attendance practices of the Americanย public. The Washington, DC study tour will also feature
participant presentations summarizing religionโs role in their home countries.
In Minneapolis, journalists will experientially explore Americaโs multiculturalย and multi-religious society, the experiences of minority
religious communities, initiatives bridging faith divides, and how culturalย and religious identity, experience, and diversity is expressedย in the literary, visual, performing, and media arts.
Throughout the U.S. study tour, journalists will consider the political, military, and cultural engagement of the U.S. with Muslim majorityย regions.
The study and tour in Manila/Cotabato City, Philippines and Rabat,
Morocco will contextualize and compare religionโs role in the public sphereย across democratic nations; provide first-hand exposure to and
more nuanced understanding of the diversity of Muslim societies; and buildย the professional networks of participating journalists.
Meetings with government officials and academics in all three countriesย will explore domestic and international counterterrorism effortsย and opportunities for cooperation. Interactive experiences willย also be included to deepen journalistsโ understanding of Muslim culturesย through the arts, culture, and new media. Finally, the mediaโs role in choosing, framing, and disseminating stories with a
religious element and its effective shaping of public perception and U.S. relations with Muslim majority regions will be explored.
The 2017SJS will bring together 14 international journalists. Oyewole,
by his nomination is the first to be selected from Nigeria and the entireย Sub-Saharan Africa since the journalism fellowship began in
2003.
Oyewole joined the services of Daily Trust Newspapers in October 2011.
He had earlier won 2010 Diamond Award for Media Excellence (DAME) in
political reporting. He also emerged runner up in the 2014 Wole Soyinkaย Investigative Journalism Award (WSIJA) in health category
Abdulateef Aliyu, Lagos
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