ABOUT

MISSION:   The Fund is dedicated to the advancement of a fuller understanding of the deliberations of the United Nations as it seeks to alleviate human suffering and further world peace; to support and promote the profession of journalism mainly in the countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania, and to inspire a strong and diverse community of journalists who will give voice to the challenges facing their countries.

U.N. journalists created the Fund and its program for journalists after Hammarskjöld’s untimely death to serve as a testament to his legacy. The following resolution was posted on the U.N. Correspondents Bulletin Board in 1961, and cited in “Dag Hammarskjöld: A Biography,” by Emery Kelen, 1969:

We, the journalists at the United Nations, who saw Dag Hammarskjöld at his task, and who mourn his death have sought a fitting means by which we may perpetuate his memory. To this end, we have established the Memorial Scholarship Fund.  It will promote in our profession a wider knowledge of the United Nations, and it will knit closer ties with the countries whose independence and advancement were the object of his unceasing labors during the last years of his life.  The Memorial Fund is establishing annual Dag Hammarskjöld Scholarships for young journalists, and the first, from Africa, will take up his scholarship this year.

The Memorial Scholarship Fund was designated as a 501(c )(3) organization by the Internal Revenue Service in 1962 and recognized as such by the State of New York.  Later the Fund was renamed the Dag Hammarskjöld Fund for Journalists.

For six decades, the Fund has created the unparalleled opportunity for career journalists under the age of 35 to report from U.N headquarters in New York about the diplomatic endeavors of the representatives of its 193 member nations.

Reporting from the UN offers journalists an opportunity to report to the people who are most affected by UN decisions — those who face conflicts or disasters and other challenges in their countries.  They gain an insider’s perspective on how diplomacy and dialogue are shaping our world and expand their understanding of how leaders are building enduring partnerships and developing strategic solutions to make a better world – or are falling short.   

By engaging with UN officials, Mission staff members and other journalists from around the world, they are able to better understand the common challenges facing other regions of the world, how/what their counterparts are reporting, and to encourage their career aspirations.