© iStockphoto.com/PaulCowan

NASW will be providing travel grants for NASW members who wish to attend the World Conference of Science Journalists in Doha, Qatar, June 27-29, 2011. The grants are named in honor of former NASW president Laura Van Dam, who championed international collaborations among science journalists. More information on the move to Doha and the WCSJ is available on the WFSJ website.

Applications due Tuesday, March 22.

Those applications received previous to the venue change will be considered in this round, but previous applicants may also choose to submit a new application.

The National Association of Science Writers invites applications for the Laura Van Dam Travel Fellowships to this summer's meeting of the World Conference of Science Journalists in Doha, scheduled for June 27-29, 2011.

Ten fellowships, each in the amount of $2,500, will be awarded in memory of past NASW President Laura Van Dam, who died in 2006. Laura was a strong supporter of this organization's commitment to international science writing and, in fact, helped organize the group's first meeting in Montreal in 2004. Our goal is not only to encourage ties between NASW and the World Federation as a way of helping the development of our craft around the world, but also to give the selected Van Dam fellows a chance to pursue story opportunities in Qatar and the region, especially at a time when travel budgets are tight for many writers. We are also pleased that through the hard work of our international liaison, Deborah Blum, and others, NASW is content partner for this exciting world conference.

General information and a preliminary program for WCSJ2011 can be found at www.wcsj2011.org. The conference is scheduled for June 27-29, 2011, and the travel grant is designed to subsidize roundtrip airfare, registration, travel insurance, and contribute to lodging costs. Monies will be distributed upon submission of travel receipts post-meeting. Awardees are responsible for all of their own travel arrangements, including acquisition of necessary visa and other passport documentation. See details from the US State Department: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1003.html. Awardees are strongly urged to secure personal travel insurance.

Those who would like to be considered for a Van Dam fellowship should send a resume and a letter combined into a one PDF file, which explains:

• How this trip would fit into the kind of reporting you are now doing

• What stories you might do in Qatar or the Middle East that cannot be done here and potential markets for them.

• What you hope to get out of attending the conference itself

Attach the single PDF to an email and send to director@nasw.org NO LATER than Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. Include "Van Dam Fellowship" in the subject line.

Successful applicants will be notified by March 30, in time for WCSJ's early registration discount. Please note that awardees are responsible for all of their own travel arrangements, including acquisition of necessary visa and other passport documentation. See details from the US State Department: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1003.html. Awardees are strongly urged to secure personal travel insurance.

To learn more about the meeting, see www.wcsj2011.org. If applications warrant, NASW may choose to distribute more than ten awards.