SA freelancers win Carter Fellowships

Johannesburg freelancer Marion Scher will use the fellowship to compare the stigma attached to mental illnesses in both rural and urban areas and black and white communities in South Africa.

Scher's experience includes work for Cosmopolitan, Fairlady, Marie Claire, Men's Health, and Sunday Times Lifestyle.

Shandukani Mathagu, a freelancer from Thohoyandou, will work on a series of radio interviews exploring the impact of Tshivenda expressions on the treatment of mental illnesses in the Limpopo. Shandakuni was formerly a SABC radio journalist.

There are six other fellows from the United States and two from New Zealand.

The fellows will convene in Atlanta at The Carter Centre in September 2005 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 Mental Health Programme to reduce stigma against people with mental illnesses and decrease incorrect and stereotypical information.

Carter says: "Informed journalists can have a significant impact on public understanding of mental health issues, as they shape debate and trends with the words and pictures they convey. They influence their peers and stimulate discussion among the general public, and an informed public can reduce stigma and discrimination."