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Winners of 2010 Journalism Fellowship Announced

The Woodrow Wilson Center and the Washington Post are pleased to announce the five 2010 journalism fellows.

WASHINGTON– The Washington Post and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars announce this year's group of winners of their Fellowship for professional working journalists from Latin America and the Caribbean. The winners are: Camille Bethel, Trinidad Express (Trinidad); Rosiane Correia de Freitas, Folha de Londrina (Brazil); Marcelo Gomes Pereira, Jornal Extra (Brazil); Georgina Olson, Excélsior (Mexico); and Alejandra Vargas, La Nación (Costa Rica).

This year's fellowship program builds upon the success of the programs conducted over the last two years.

In addition to announcing this year's winners, we are pleased to report that one of last year's grantees, Diana Durán Núñez of El Espectador, Colombia, was awarded the 2010 Inter-American Press Association's top prize for reporting on Inter-American relations.

This year's winners were selected from among 45 applicants from 14 countries. Under the fellowship, the journalists will conduct three weeks of investigative reporting in Washington (September 13 through October 1, 2010), working from the newsroom of The Washington Post.

"Once again, this is an excellent group," said Cynthia Arnson, Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Latin American Program. "We are pleased to include reporters from local as well as national media in Latin America; in fact, some of the greatest impacts of hemispheric relations are felt at the local level. The topics, from weapons trafficking to climate change, reflect some of the most pressing issues on the U.S.-Latin American agenda."

The Selection Committee based its final decision on the applicants' exceptional journalistic background, the originality of their proposals and feasibility of carrying them out in Washington and within the allowed time. Camille Bethel will investigate the US State Department's visa policy regarding Trinidadians, and its relationship with illegal immigration. Rosiane Correia de Freitas will compare the role and regulation of Brazilian and American non-governmental organizations. Marcelo Gomes Pereira will research the legal and illegal movement of weapons between Brazil and the United States. Georgina Olson will look at actions law enforcement agencies are taking against illegal arms trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border. Alejandra Vargas will explore the implications of the carbon market for Costa Rica.

The Selection Committee was comprised of two outside judges recognized for their journalistic and scholarly excellence as well as senior representatives of the two sponsoring institutions. The members of the committee were: (from the Washington Post) Paula Andalo, managing editor, El Tiempo; Milton Coleman, senior editor; Karen DeYoung, senior diplomatic correspondent; Mary Pat Flaherty, investigative reporter; James Grimaldi, investigative reporter; Carlos Lozada, deputy editor of the Post's Outlook section; Kevin Sullivan, senior foreign correspondent; (from the Woodrow Wilson Center) Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin American Program; Andrew Selee, director of the Mexico Institute; Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute; and independent journalists John Dinges, Godfrey Lowell Cabot Professor of Journalism at Columbia University and director of the Center for Investigation and Information; and Dolia Estévez, senior Mexican correspondent and radio commentator.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds and engaged in the study of national and world affairs.

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The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more

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The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute.   Read more