Monitor journalist wins prestigious US Fellowship

Another Monitor journalist has won the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, the most prestigious US government exchange programme.

Mr Johnson Mayamba is the third journalist to be selected from the same media house for the fellowship since it was established. 
The Fellowship is named after former US Vice President Senator from Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey. 

“I am very excited and greatly honoured to have been selected for this very prestigious opportunity from more than 200 applicants in Uganda alone. I embrace it with greatest humility as I join a privileged league of experts and scholars from all over the world,” Mr Mayamba said. 

Established in 1978, the Fellowship is a one-year global opportunity offered to mid-career professionals working at policy level and have a track record of leadership and commitment to public service. 

It is funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Mr Mayamba said he will spend his time at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University (ASU).

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I intend to make the most of it. I am very optimistic that my time at ASU and USA as a whole will enrich me with topnotch knowledge and skills to face the future and provide solutions to the ever-changing media industry as I champion the defence, promotion and protection of human rights for all,” he said.
 
Mr Tabu Butagira, the Nation Media Group-Uganda Managing Editor, who also attended Humphrey Fellowship in 2014-2015, said the Fulbright (Humphrey) fellowship award is a correct verdict on one’s outstanding future leadership ability.

“The future rewards those who invest in themselves and by taking this fellowship at the Cronkite J-School, my alma mater, shortly after his graduate  studies in South Africa, Mayamba answers the call for skilling to meet dynamic demands of evolving digital media challenges and opportunities,” Mr Butagira said.

Mr Daniel Kalinaki, the General Manager Editorial at Nation Media Group - Uganda, said: “I am delighted that Johnson has been selected to this prestigious Fellowship and I trust that he will do us, the country and himself proud.”

Another winner
Ms Celia Nalwadda, a senior research associate at Uganda National Academy of Sciences, is the second Ugandan who was selected together with Mr Mayamba for the 2021-2022 cohort. She will be heading to Cornell University in New York. Applications for the 2022-2023 cohort are currently ongoing.

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