Prothom Alo journalist Rozina Islam participates in Alfred Friendly Fellowship Programme

Prothom Alo journalist Rozina Islam has participated in the Alfred Friendly Fellowship Programme, a prestigious United States-based training programme specialising in investigative journalism.

Organised by Alfred Friendly Press Partners, the fellowship is widely recognised as one of the world's most competitive and distinguished professional development programmes in investigative journalism.

The programme, conducted in collaboration with the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, provides journalists from around the world with opportunities to develop advanced investigative reporting techniques, strengthen data-driven reporting skills, enhance professional expertise, and gain international experience.

Rozina Islam has worked in investigative journalism for many years. Before relocating to the United States in late 2024, she served as Special Correspondent at Prothom Alo.

She currently serves as the newspaper's California Correspondent. In recognition of her contribution to combating corruption through journalism, she has received several prestigious national and international awards and honours.

In 2021, Free Press Unlimited of the Netherlands awarded her the Free Press Award. In 2023, she received the Anti-Corruption Champions Award from the United States Department of State.

The Alfred Friendly Fellowship Programme helps participating journalists strengthen their investigative reporting skills, analytical perspective, international exposure, and overall professional capacity. Since its launch in 1984, the fellowship has trained more than 400 journalists from over 90 countries.

The four-week, in-person training programme began on 25 May in the US state of Missouri and concluded on 21 June in Washington, DC, with participation in the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Conference.

During the fellowship, participants gain extensive practical experience in modern investigative reporting techniques, data journalism, public records research, fact-checking, media law, digital security, journalist safety, and newsroom leadership.

In addition to classroom instruction, the programme offers workshops, case studies, group exercises, and opportunities to work directly with experienced investigative journalists.

One of the fellowship's most significant strengths is its emphasis on international collaboration and the exchange of professional experience. Journalists from different countries work together to discuss the challenges of investigative journalism in their respective countries, share practical experiences, and explore new investigative methods.

This collaboration helps build a global journalism network that supports future cross-border investigative reporting.

As part of the fellowship, participants attend the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Conference in the United States, where leading investigative journalists and editors from around the world discuss data journalism, cross-border investigations, modern newsroom management, and the future of the media industry.

During their stay in Missouri, the fellows also meet directly with representatives from courts, universities, banks, investment institutions, the legal profession, the judiciary, the business community, and other professional sectors.

These practical experiences help them gain a deeper understanding of the roles that law, economics, public administration, and social structures play in public interest journalism.