The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) has named 10 outstanding agricultural journalists to participate in the 2019 IFAJ/Corteva AgriscienceTM Master Class – among them, Trinidad and Tobago journalist Keron Bascombe.
The 10th annual Master Class will be held in conjunction with IFAJ’s World Congress in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, in early July.
This year’s Master Class includes:
- Busani Bafana, Zimbabwe
- Keron Bascombe, Trinidad
- Andreas Canales Leal, Mexico
- Rusudan Gigashvili, Georgia
- Talib Ussi Hamad, Tanzania
- Constanza Mantelli, Chile
- Judith Lembela Mupeta, Zambia
- Luiz Pitombo, Brazil
- Keddimetse van der Westhuizen, Botswana
- Arimo Moi Williams, Uganda
“Corteva Agriscience is thrilled to continue our sponsorship of the IFAJ’s Master Class Program, which offers outstanding agricultural journalists from around the world an incredible professional development experience,” said Gregg Schmidt, Head of External Communications at Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. “These journalists have a critical role in communicating about the importance and need for agriculture in society. We look forward to seeing them in Minnesota later this year.”
A special two-day Master Class program prior to the start of Congress will include workshops on journalism best practices, press freedom issues, interviewing skills, leadership development and networking. The Master Class will include farm visits and reporting workshops as well as round-table discussions of pressing issues facing agricultural journalists in the field.
“These 10 outstanding colleagues have already distinguished themselves through their skills as journalists, and they are already leaders in their communities,” said Steve Werblow, IFAJ secretary-general. “With the generous support of Corteva AgriscienceTM, the Master Class program provides them an opportunity to engage in professional development, leadership training and networking on an international level.
“Over the years, alumni have taken the lessons and network connections home from Master Class to establish agricultural journalism guilds in their home countries, strengthening agricultural journalism and helping build IFAJ,” Werblow added. “Many guilds that are now part of our federation have been led or strengthened by alumni of the Master Class program over the past decade.
“This group will bring their insights and skills from around the world, and we are looking forward to meeting them, working beside them, and learning from them,” he concluded.
Members of Master Class will also attend the IFAJ Congress, adding to more than 40 nations represented at the global meeting.
