SA writers shine in Carter Centre Fellowships

“Journalists have a very important role to play in shaping the public's perception of mental illnesses,” said former First Lady and Carter Centre co-founder of the centre. “If a news piece or a book shows what mental illness is really like, people will understand that mental illnesses happen to so many of us, and fortunately, even the most serious mental illnesses can be treated and most people can recover."

Glynis Horning is a freelance journalist from Durban and Metzi, van der Merwe is a reporter for SABC Radio News. They join six fellows from the United States, and two from Romania. Each South African fellow will receive a R50 000 stipend to study and report on a particular issue within the mental health field for one year.

This year saw a record number of applicants applying for the Carter Centre's Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism—the only journalism fellowships exclusively for mental health. Since 1996, the fellowship programme has educated more than 100 journalists, who set the standard in their field for accurate and sensitive portrayals of mental health issues.

Working to reduce stigma, discrimination

Previous fellows have produced more than 300 stories, documentaries, books, and other works. Fellows' projects have garnered Fellowships from Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health Association), the American Psychological Association, Amnesty International, and the Association of Health Care Journalists, as well as Emmy and Pulitzer Prize nominations.

The fellowships are part of the Carter Centre's Mental Health Programme, which works around the world to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses and decrease incorrect and stereotypical information. In addition, The Carter Centre conducts pioneering work on many other health fronts, including spearheading the historic campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease, integrating neglected disease prevention, and building health infrastructure in some of the world's most impoverished communities.

The fellows will convene in Atlanta at The Carter Centre on 14-16 September 2009, to meet with former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter, the centre's Mental Health Task Force, and the Journalism Fellowship Advisory Board to discuss planned topics of study. The fellowships are part of an international effort by the Carter Centre's Mental Health Programme to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses and decrease incorrect and stereotypical information.

The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships would like to acknowledge their partnership with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), Johannesburg, South Africa.

The 2009-2010 Recipients of the Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowships

U.S. recipients are:

• Rachel Aviv, freelance journalist, Brooklyn, NY. Topic: Report on the mental health needs of children in rural areas and focus on the stories of families that have relinquished custody of their children in order to have mental health care provided to them.
  
• Elizabeth Bernstein, The Wall Street Journal, Brooklyn, NY. Topic: Examine the impact of the economic recession on people with mental illnesses.
  
• Michael Biesecker, The News and Observer, Durham, NC. Topic: Investigate the treatment of people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities in North Carolina's jails and prisons.
  
• Nicolae Ciorogan, WHDH-TV (NBC) Boston, Arlington, MA. Topic: Produce a television series on how immigrants from different cultures cope with depression in a family member.
  
• Tamara Jeffries, freelance journalist, Durham, NC. Topic: Explore the issue of postpartum depression in African-American women.
  
• Joanne Silberner, National Public Radio, Washington, DC. Topic: Produce radio stories on the treatment of mental illnesses in developing countries.

The South African recipients are: