By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 23, 2023 – Deandre Williamson, a Bahamian journalist who is currently a United Nations RAF Fellow, paid a courtesy call at the Bahamas Consulate General in New York and met with Consul General Leroy Major, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States Wendall Jones, and Bahamas Minister of State Myles LaRoda.
Ms. Williamson posted a group of photos taken during her courtesy call that I absolutely had to share with readers of my online publication, BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which has a huge following among the Bahamian diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean.
Participants in the UN 2023 RAF Program, now taking at the UN Headquarters from September 13 to 29, were selected from the previous virtual RAF Classes of 2021 and 2022.
Ms. Williamson, an employee of Jones Communications Network in Nassau, Bahamas, previously, worked as a television and radio reporter at the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, in addition to doing internships at CNN Headline News and a local CBS affiliate in Pennsylvania.
The Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship was mandated in December 1980 by UN General Assembly Resolution 35/201. Formerly known as the DPI Training Program for Broadcasters and Journalists from Developing Countries, the program was renamed in 2003 in honor of Reham Al-Farra, a 29-year-old Jordanian public information officer who was killed in the August 19, 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad.
“The Fellowship is a unique opportunity for young (22 to 35), working journalists from developing countries and countries with economies in transition to cover the United Nations,” according to the U.N. website. “Hosted every autumn at UN Headquarters, the program brings a select group of journalists to New York to cover the opening of the General Assembly for their news outlets.”
During the three-week program, fellows have an opportunity to attend special briefings, interview senior officials and exchange ideas with colleagues from around the world. In previous years, fellows have met with the UN Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, President of the General Assembly and permanent representatives to the United Nations. The program also arranges visits to various news organizations, such as the New York Times, Democracy Now! and BuzzFeed.
Since its founding in 1981, the fellowship has been awarded to 652 journalists from 168 countries. Upon completion of the program, fellows are expected to continue working in journalism and promote better understanding of the United Nations in their home countries.
