Young Media Makers Fellowship 2026 – Training, Mentorship & Professional Growth for Emerging Media Creators @Training, Mentorship & Professional Growth for Emerging Media Creators

Overview

The Young Media Makers Fellowship Program 2026–2028 is a long-term capacity-building initiative by DW Akademie for emerging media professionals in the Western Balkans. It offers training, mentorship, study visits, and hands-on experience to create innovative media formats for young audiences.

Benefits

• 12 modules combining online and in-person seminars
• Workshops on innovative media formats
• Mentoring support for media product development
• Regional and EU study visits
• Capacity building in Media Information Literacy, AI, and digital innovation
• Training in mobile journalism, TikTok and Instagram reporting, podcasting
• Sessions on sustainable business models, project management, and media consulting
• Program participation is free of charge.
• DW Akademie covers travel expenses, accommodation, meals, and visa costs (if applicable).
• Certificate of completion from DW Akademie upon successful program completion.

Eligibility

The fellowship is open to media professionals aged 25–35 from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Applicants should have experience in journalism, media-related work, content production, project management, or related fields. Experience working with young people is an advantage. Applications must be submitted in English. Applicants may apply even if they currently live outside their home country, provided they are citizens of an eligible country and reside within the Western Balkans region.

How to Apply

To apply, candidates must:

1. Complete the official Application Form (including a motivation letter of max. 3,000 characters and the media product idea sketch of max. 4,000 characters).
2. Send their CV in English (PDF, max. 10 MB) to: dw-akademie.western.balkans@dw.com with the subject line: “Application for Young Media Makers (your home country)”

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews via MS Teams between 27 March and 2 April 2026.

Deadline

Sunday, 15 March 2026, 11:59 pm CET