Launch of the media-research collaboration fellowships

Running from January to June 2025, the media fellowship aims to produce and publish impactful stories highlighting critical environmental sustainability issues related to the MTT program’s research activities. These stories are expected to be published in their respective country news outlets.

In turn, the fellows will support MTT researchers with capacity building for the granted projects in the Mekong Region (four flagship studies and seven rapid response projects). Media capacity building can help researchers to better communicate their scientific findings to the public for enhanced visibility and policy impacts.

The fellowships will help foster close collaboration between MTT’s knowledge-based policy influence organizations (KBPIOs) (e.g., think tanks, researchers, and practitioners) and Mekong-based journalists, who play a key role in shaping public discourse and driving societal change.

Launch of the fellowship

At the kick-off meeting on January 14, 2025, nine MTT research projects and six media fellows (including one team of two members) came together to exchange their knowledge and discuss collaboration.

Below is the profile of the media fellows who will work closely with MTT researchers over the coming months to produce and publish impactful media stories. 

1.   Keoxomphou Sakdavong, a journalist from Lao PDR with extensive experience at Vientiane Times, will focus on how MTT research, particularly through Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) practices, can enhance climate resilience, improve livelihood security, and promote sustainable development.

2.   Quach Thi Kieu Mai, a Vietnamese journalist and grantee of the Earth Journalism Network and Mekong Eye, will report on the impact of small hydropower projects on communities in Nghe An in north-central Vietnam. She will apply a GEDSI lens to highlight the challenges faced by women, who are disproportionately affected by changes in water access and usage.

3.   Supported by CamboJA News, Eung Sea, a young freelance journalist from Cambodia, will dig into strategies for enhancing the resilience of marginalized communities using the Water-Energy-Climate Nexus approach.

4.   Patithin Phetmeuangphuan, a Laos journalist and feature reporter at Vientiane Times, grew up in a rural area and has a deep connection with river resources. Through this fellowship, he seeks to amplify insights from local fishermen and MTT researchers on promoting sustainable aquaculture amid climate change.

5.   Theerayut Weerakham, an independent documentary filmmaker with experience at Thai PBS and The Isaan Record, will produce a short documentary featuring local stakeholders and MTT researchers. His work will integrate statistical data to explore sustainable water resource management and highlight the ecological importance of the Songkham River wetlands, a key Mekong tributary.

6.   Nguyen Tuan An Pham and Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, Vietnamese journalists specializing in solutions journalism, will focus on the gendered impact of irrigation system design in the Mekong Delta. Their work will provide scientific insights and data to support more equitable and effective water management policies.

To support the production of science-based media content, researchers from MTT projects will help media fellows access and interpret inclusive knowledge co-production processes and their research findings in the Mekong Region. 

In return, media partners will support MTT researchers in crafting effective communications to engage non-academic audiences while highlighting the impact of their scientific findings.

Nine MTT-funded research projects are participating in this initiative:

1.   Addressing Water Scarcity through Groundwater Use: Development of Solar-Powered Groundwater Treatment System for Remote Area of Cambodia.

2.   Sustaining the shared groundwater resources of the Transboundary Cambodia- Vietnam Mekong River Delta aquifer under Climate Change impacts through strategic Gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) tools and suitable Nature-based Solutions (NbS).

3.   Enhancing Fisheries Resilience and Managing Fisheries Resources Sustainably under Climate Change Impacts through Local Community Participation in Lao PDR.

4.   Promote equitable sharing of water resources for ethnic minority communities living downstream of small hydropower projects through collaboration  among the community,  businesses, and the state  in Vietnam.

5.   Solutions and Opportunities in managing water Storage to reduce transboundary water-related disaster risks and to address multiple water demands.

6.   Building resilience and adaptive capacity of Women’s Union to address water-energy-climate challenges in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.

7.   GS4Infra - Gender-sensitizing for Design and Operation of Water-Energy-Climate Change Infrastructures in Soc Trang Province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

8.   Assessing the Communities' Resilience to Climate Change: Water-Energy-Climate Nexus: A Case Study in Mekong Sub-Region's Marginalized Communities in Stung Treng Province, Cambodia.

9.   Strengthening climate resilience of agricultural livelihoods in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR through participatory Ecosystem-based Adaptation.

More details about each project can be found here.

This is the second media fellowship initiative by SEI and aims to strengthen the foundation for long-term media-research collaboration in the Mekong Region.

Cover photo: Media fellowships have helped journalists access research sites to interview local communities and promote scientific findings to a wider public. Photo by: Rajesh Daniel / SEI Asia.