You can apply now for a 2026-27 Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism if you are a reporter, editor or content producer in the UAE.
The non-residential fellowship programme, which is run by the Carter Centre in the US and is administered in the UAE by The National, seeks to develop a cohort of journalists who can improve the quality and accuracy of mental health reporting in the media.
The programme provides a grant, training and mentorship for 12 months for successful candidates and is named after the late Rosalynn Carter, co-founder of the Carter Centre, who was an influential voice in the field of mental health for decades.
The application window closes on Tuesday, June 30.
The fellowship year, which runs from the start of September for 12 months, is bookended by two-day annual meetings at the Carter Centre in the US city of Atlanta, where incoming fellows will discuss their intended reporting work with a global network of journalists and mental health experts. Fellows will return to the same forum in 2027.
They will be supported by advisers in the US and experts in the UAE throughout their time with the programme.
The successful candidates will follow Nour Ibrahim and Ghenwa Yehia, who are in the last few months of their fellowship year and have both worked on projects exploring the intersection between mental health and artificial intelligence.
Ghenwa has produced a series of four pieces for Khaleej Times on "grief tech" this month. Nour has published two stories in The National so far, that examine why young people have looked to AI for mental health support.
Previous fellows have reported on a diverse range of topics, including the experiences of communities living with the threat of conflict and climate change; attitudes towards mental health in the Arabic music scene; solutions-based pieces on ways to help build more resilient societies; insightful reporting on the experiences of expatriate workers living apart from their natural support networks; stories that have documented the societal pressures experienced by young people and how schools tackled the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic; and the need for better support for people living with disabilities and for the forcibly displaced.
Am I eligible?
You should have a minimum of two years of experience as a reporter, editor or content producer. You must also be a citizen or resident of the UAE, or demonstrate a strong connection to the country through regular freelance work.
How can I apply?
Applicants should submit a copy of their CV together with a cover letter of no more than 400 words that provides an outline of the mental health reporting work the candidate would seek to undertake if awarded a UAE fellowship.
The project proposal should outline where they hope to publish their work and in what format (ie, digital, print, broadcast, social media etc). It is not a requirement of the scheme that the reporting project is published by The National.
Any application should be supported by links to two samples of previously published work to demonstrate your suitability for this programme.
In addition, the applicant should supply contact details for a suitable referee.
That person is in all likelihood a senior editor, newsroom leader or publisher, and should be able to comment on the applicant's ability and potential as a journalist and, ideally, have a strong interest in publishing and supporting the applicant's fellowship proposal.
Referees will only be contacted if a candidate is called for an interview.
Where should I apply for a fellowship?
Applicants should submit their CV, cover letter of 400 words or less, links to two samples of their work and contact details for their referee to:
Nick March, Assistant Editor-in-Chief at The National and UAE Programme Administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism.
Send your application to nmarch@thenationalnews.com
Please mark the subject line of your email as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application 2026-27)”.
The closing date for applications is June 30, 2026.
What happens after I apply?
Applications will be reviewed by a panel of experts. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted and interviewed in late July 2026, via Zoom.
