We are looking to recruit correspondents with excellent local contacts, expertise and language skills in Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, East Africa, India, Thailand (covering East Asia)
To widen our reach and impact both at home and abroad, in 2010 Index on Censorship launched a worldwide regional editors programme. Each year we have established new correspondents in different priority regions for freedom of expression, each one led by a regional expert with local contacts and language skills.
These part-time positions are offered on a 12-month basis, with the intention and possibility that editors will continue to contribute to Index at the end of this period.
Correspondents play an essential role in Index’s plans for website expansion. Their role is to contribute original copy to the Index website on freedom of expression in their country and some of the other countries in the region. This will support Index’s website – which is currently undergoing a redesign – in becoming one of the foremost portals for discussing free speech around the world, to develop original content and new audiences, break news, publish insightful analysis, interviews and opinion, and share ideas through social media. Editors may also be asked to contribute to Index’s quarterly award-winning magazine, suggest contributors and help to research / commission pieces.
As well as writing for the site we want correspondents to help connect us to a wider group of contributors and bloggers – advising us on emerging artists, musicians, free speech advocates, lawyers and writers directly engaging with censorship and other challenging political issues. Index correspondents will also communicate with Index colleagues based in London giving short updates on the wider political context and developments within which freedom of expression challenges sit.
Index correspondents must have excellent writing skills and proven writing experience and be able to contribute blogposts and longer articles to Index’s website both at short notice, for breaking news, and through planned features and interviews. They will also be expected to submit original ideas for articles and features. Ideally correspondents should have multimedia skills and the ability to submit video / audio interviews for our site. Correspondents should also be adept at using social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc)
Applicants should also have proven expertise in writing about and/or commenting on freedom expression.
The experts will coordinate closely with Index’s web team, and also where relevant our advocacy team, under the direction of online editor Emily Butselaar.
Index correspondents will situate their writing and other work for Index mostly within our five overarching themes: free expression in the digital world; religion and culture; totalitarian and authoritarian regimes; the use of national security, public order and defamation as excuses for censorship in democracies; and access to free expression (eg issues of illiteracy or discrimination as they impact directly on free expression). They will work to a discrete programme of activities in each region, to enhance and extend Index on Censorship’s publishing activities, advocacy initiatives and arts programming, including a special focus on free expression in the world of literature.
In-country correspondents will also be expected to cover wider issues in the region in which they are based – for instance our Turkey correspondent will also need to look at issues in Iran and Syria.
If you are interested in applying for one of these positions please write to Emily Butselaar via jobs[at]indexoncensorship.org
