UAE appoints two new mental health journalism fellows

Jenna Kleinwort and Fatima Al Mahmoud awarded Rosalyn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowship 2022-23 in the UAE.

Kleinwort is a freelance journalist living in Abu Dhabi and Al Mahmoud is a social media reporter National. They will begin their one-year non-residential scholarship later this month.

The program aims to improve the quality of mental health coverage in the media and is named after the Carter Center co-founder Rosalynn Carter, who has been influential in the mental health field for decades.

Both reporters will receive intensive training from U.S. experts and mentors to help them accurately report on mental health. They will be supported by a local UAE advisory committee.

This Carter Centeris a US-based non-profit NGO that has awarded scholarships to more than 200 journalists worldwide since 1996.

About 20 journalists from the United States, Latin America and the Middle East will receive fellowships this year.

National Manages and oversees the UAE Mental Health Journalism Project, usually awarding scholarships twice a year.

Kleinwort previously worked as a video reporter for 7DNews in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, covering business and social affairs. Her work has also been broadcast on Bahrain TV and German channels including ZDF.

Last year, she opened DW Akademie’s first Arabic course to train Tunisian journalists in health journalism. Her fellowship programme will focus on those at the forefront of mental health in the UAE.

Al Mahmoud is a social media reporter National In Abu Dhabi, reporting from Beirut was also contributed, covering a range of mental health topics, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in Lebanon and the country’s shortage of psychiatric medicines.

Her fellowship project will focus on first responders and mental health.

Kleinwort and Al Mahmoud will succeed Amandeep Bhangu and Anam Rizvi as a researcher in the UAE.

Bhangu spent her fellowship year developing a podcast series on culture, mental health and community, and Rizvi has reported National On the mental health challenges young people face during the pandemic.

Applications for the 2023-24 UAE Rosalyn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowship will open in February 2023.

Updated: September 6, 2022 at 4:14 pm