Recipients of 2016 Dag Hammarskjöld Journalism Fellowships

María Julia Arana, 30, works for ComunicaRSE, an Hispanic online media specializing in Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility. She is an Argentine national, born in Bolivia. She has a B.A. in communications and a postgraduate degree in sustainable development. In 2015 she won Buenos Aires’ Young Art Biennial. As a correspondent for ComunicaRSE she has attended international events such as G77+China Summit. She intends to expand her work on the global development goals, climate change and their interaction with the private sector. She is also interested in immigrants’ rights as well as all forms of discrimination.

Rohollah Faghihi, a 26-year old Iranian, works for Persian language Entekhab news agency in Tehran, and is a contributor in English to the Guardian, the Middle East Eye and Al Monitor. His news reports spell out the complexities of Iranian society. He has also reported on the Iranian nuclear negotiations in Vienna. At the United Nations, he wants to expand his knowledge of diplomacy and report to Iranians on the work of the world body.

Abdulfattoh Shafiev, 35, is a freelancer from Tajikistan, an editor for the Central Asia Analytical Network, created by George Washington University, and a contributor to Global Voices Online. He was a Fulbright scholar at George Washington University and has covered events in Europe, the Middle East as well as Central Asia. His articles for Global Voices have been translated into 12 languages. He is interested in international affairs, human rights and in bringing the work of the United Nations to his region.

Sofie Syarief, 32, is a journalist and news producer for one of Indonesia’s news channel, Kompas TV. She covers a large variety of news—from presidential elections, corruptions, politics, to terrorism. These experiences led to invitations as a speaker in many international journalism forums, including co-writing a book for Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (Foundation) of Germany on the issues of online activism. She holds a master’s degree in New Political Communications from Royal Holloway College, University of London, under the prestigious Chevening Scholarship of the UK Government. She plans to dig deeper on counter-terrorism during her time at the United Nations.