Journalism student heads for South Africa on a fellowship

 

Journalism graduate student Tamara Kramer has been awarded the 2005 International Development Research Council fellowship. It carries a grant of $20,000 dollars and the challenge of six months of active journalism and a follow-up report. Tamara’s proposal focused on women’s issues in South Africa.

“I’ve always been interested in South Africa,” she said. “Ever since I started high school, I’ve read protest literature, and the work which had the biggest impact on me was [the 1950s classic] Cry the Beloved Country. Then, the whole world was immersed in the struggle against apartheid. I knew more about South Africa than Canada.”

Tamara chose an organization named Women’s Net, which is located in Johannesburg. Their work focuses on women’s empowerment through the use of radio. She will produce reports on the lives of women in South Africa for a project called Recording Women, and hopes to write articles for the feminist journal Agenda.

”The new apartheid in South Africa is class apartheid, and there is also the pandemic of HIV/AIDS,” she said. “Just listening to people is helpful. What inspires me as a journalist is helping people in their struggles by reporting on them.”

The under-reporting of international issues is one of the reasons the IDRC offers this opportunity. Journalism Program Director Mike Gasher believes this is why the fellowship is so important.

“These are countries that are not in the news very often, except if there is a disaster, and then you get flash coverage. If the kinds of issues certain African countries face were taking place in Europe, the response would be a little different. It’s important that Western journalists go there — in both the gesture and in the exposure.”

Kramer’s not daunted by the prospect of leaving Montreal for six months.

“I am very excited. When you're in the news business, there couldn't be anything better than having an experience where every person, place, and thing is new. I look forward to feeling that, but I also look forward to coming back to Montreal to share what I've seen and learned.”

- Craig Anderson

CTR received so many suggestions for our popular year-end Great
Grads feature that we are starting it early. Look for more Great Grads in the May 19 and June 2 issues.