Johannesburg, 25 March 2022 – Brand South Africa, Global Citizen Africa and ‘I am South African’ are proud to introduce the inaugural SA Invest Media Fellowship. The South African Investment Conference has over the years become a dairy highlight and ultimate annual appointment for the global business and investment community.
The 2022 edition builds on the successes of the previous three events and is a continuation of government’s sustained engagement with the domestic and international business community. This is aimed at positioning South Africa as a global partner in trade and investment, by showcasing the country’s strategic importance in the region, as well as the opportunities for investment in the country dubbed ‘the most industrialised nation in Africa’.
The annual SA Invest Media Fellowship is born out of a recognition of the pivotal role journalists and other media and communications practitioners play, in not only telling the story of South Africa as an investment destination, but in fully understanding and by extension relating to the world the nuances of trade, investment, and value-chains in the South African economy.
Because investment is central to South Africa’s economic blueprint – the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, it is equally critical to, in a manner of speaking, ‘Invest in Investment’. Investing in a deeper understanding by media practitioners, of the dynamics and nuances of the South African economy will in turn, enhance the telling of the South African story, sharpen critique and analysis on the global stage, without detracting from it, but instead augmenting the media’s ability to exert accountability from the custodians of the country’s investment drive.
The annual SA Invest Media Fellowship is a country-investment training and experience programme, targeting working journalists and practising media and communication practitioners from South Africa and around the world. The initiative offers technical, statistical, practical information and experiences to assist in enhancing the technical knowledge capacity of the media, about the dynamics of trade and investment which are the key components of economic development, and ultimately, the prosperity of a nation.
Twenty-five distinguished media and communications professionals from South Africa, the continent, and from investment partner countries around the world, will be chosen by a panel of prominent South African, Pan African and global stakeholders, from various sectors across the spectrum of media, trade and investment, economics, infrastructure development, branding, and others – through a rigorous, robust and transparent process.
This initiative is a partnership between Brand South Africa, Global Citizen Africa, and ‘I AM South African’. Its launch is based on a firm belief that investing in the media is a critical aspect of citizenship, as well as a conviction about the need to strengthen the media’s contextual and technical understanding of investment in South Africa. Initiatives such as these not only build the capacity of practitioners to advocate for improved governance and accountability, which is the mandate of the media, but also improve global and transparent access to credible data and verified information on South Africa, which is a huge contributing factor to investor confidence.
We seek to champion diverse, disruptive, and emerging talent, and as such, in terms of international representation on the Fellowship, we particularly encourage submissions from under-represented groups (various ethnic groups, women, youth, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities), as well as from those based in the global South.
This statement therefore declares the first annual ‘SA Invest Media Fellowship’ officially open for applications.
Applying for the SA Invest Media Fellowship
The application window is between 24 March and 10 April 2022. The Fellowship invites all working journalists, multi-media practitioners, and communications professionals to apply with the following:
- A resume not exceeding 2 pages and must include 3 current references with contact details.
- A motivation letter not exceeding 150 words (this must include notifying us if you are part of an under-represented group, or if you are from the global-South, etc)
- 3 articles/blogs/vlogs/posts/etc published in the last 2 years (include hyperlinks)
- A head and shoulders picture to be used for our collateral (names will be used as per resume)
- A hyperlink to an article about trade and or investment that you wished you had written and a brief reason why
ALL of the above must be emailed in a single email to: za@imsouthafrican.co.za by midnight/12am (SAST) on 10 April 2022.Application acceptance is determined by a single email that includes all 5 required submissions as stipulated above, and received as per the time stamp receipt on our side.
Ends
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Issued by MCC
Mapi Mhlangu
MD: MInsight Content Creation: +27 82 884 5289
