The Fund was established in 1962 as a not-for-profit organization by journalists at the United Nations to honor Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General who was killed in a plane crash while on a peace mission to Africa. Financial resources are solicited from private sources and representative Missions to the United Nations but not from the U.N. itself.

The Fund awards fellowships to professional journalists from the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The chosen journalists are given an incomparable opportunity to observe deliberations during the first 10 weeks of the U.N. General Assembly (September-November) and to expand their knowledge of foreign policy, diplomacy and world events.

The fellowship program is directed by U.N. accredited journalists who serve on the Fund’s Board of Directors, select the recipients and share their expertise by mentoring them during their time in New York.

The Fund is guided in its efforts by an Honorary Advisory Council, which is comprised of ambassadors to the United Nations and other individuals who believe in the merit and objectives of the journalism program.

The fellowship program has become increasingly important in recent years as fewer news organizations in developing countries can afford to maintain correspondents in New York or at the U.N. The journalists report to their media outlets on stories that they select; no editorial restrictions are imposed on their work.

Over the last five decades, the fellowships have changed the personal and professional lives of hundreds of journalists, many of whom have risen to prominence in their professions and countries.

The fellowship program serves to maintain and expand the essential partnership between the U.N. and the media, a partnership that promotes human rights, freedom and development.