Reminder: Call for Nominations Klebnikov Fellowship Program [by September 15]

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Subject: Reminder: Call for Nominations Klebnikov Fellowship Program
From: The Paul Klebnikov Fellowship at the Harriman Institute <lch2111@columbia.edu>
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:06:20 +0000

Columbia/Harriman Institute

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We write to ask for your help in identifying extraordinary candidates for the Harriman Institute’s Paul Klebnikov Russian Civil Society Fellowship for the 2013/14 academic year (much gratitude to those who have already submitted nominations­we are building a strong list of candidates).  The Harriman Institute hosted its first Klebnikov Fellow, Svetlana Reiter, after several years of mutual cooperation with the Paul Klebnikov Fund.  The Fellowship honors the memory of Paul Klebnikov, the American journalist and editor of Forbes Russia who was assassinated in Moscow in 2004.  The Fellowship upholds the growth of civil society in Russia by supporting journalistic integrity, the rule of law, and the preservation of Russia’s architectural heritage.

The Klebnikov Fellowship allows highly qualified Russian journalists, as well as civil society professionals in the fields of environmentalism, rule of law and architectural preservation, to spend a few weeks in the United States.  We help arrange contacts for them with Western journalists and other professional counterparts, building opportunities for mutual learning, networking, and encouragement.  Recipients in turn participate in discussion forums with Columbia students and faculty.  We seek candidates who are known for their independence, integrity, and objectivity.  Recipients must be proficient in English.  Journalists must have had an association with a Russian publication for at least five years, and civil society professionals must have had appropriate comparable experience.

This year we hope to expand the reach of our Fellowship program by soliciting nominations for individuals working in environmentalism, with a preference for those outside Moscow.  We hope you can help us in identifying leaders in this field who would benefit from time in New York and the chance to build a network of contacts in the U.S.  We of course also welcome nominations outside this field, and encourage you to contact us with any deserving journalists or civil society professionals.

Last year’s fellow, Svetlana Reiter, a freelance journalist in Moscow who is a correspondent for the cultural magazine Bolshoi Gorod and a special correspondent for Esquire Russia, was in residence at the Harriman Institute in early 2013.  Reiter participated in panel discussions on “The Fate of Protest in Russia: Obscenity, Pussy Riot, & Freedom of Expression” and “A New Season of Repression?  The Kremlin’s Response to Protest and Uncertainty.”  For her recent article in our newly-launched Harriman Magazine, click here.

We look forward to hearing from you about potential Fellowship candidates for this year.  Please send the name, contact info, and your reason for nominating the individual.  The Institute will research the nominee and their work for consideration.  Please direct nominations by September 15 to Lydia Hamilton, at lch2111@columbia.edu, tel. 212-854-6239.

Thank you for your invaluable advice and support.

With deepest gratitude,

Timothy Frye
Director, Harriman Institute
Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy
and Professor of Political Science
Columbia University
Musa Klebnikov
Senior Advisor, Paul Klebnikov Russian Civil Society Fellowship Advisory Committee
Columbia University

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