Media grant to strengthen Australian and Korean relations
The Walkley Foundation is proud to announce its continued partnership with the Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF) for a media exchange program for the next three years.
The partnership sees the Walkley Foundation awarded a $120,000 grant by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to support a series of media exchanges. In late November the Foundation will escort a cohort of six journalists from Korea to Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Sydney where participants will meet business and government stakeholders, cultural experts and Australian media counterparts.
The second stage of the exchange program will see a group of Australian journalists sent to Korea in early 2023. The Walkley Foundation will be seeking applications from the media for this round in the coming months.
The exchange program will allow journalists from both countries to explore areas of interest and develop international partnerships. Critical minerals and energy will be the key focus of the trip for the six Korean journalists visiting Australia in November.
CEO of the Walkley Foundation, Shona Martyn said the renewal of the exchange program would create opportunities for journalists from Korea and Australia to increase their knowledge and understanding of each other’s countries. The Foundation managed previous exchange programs with Korea in pre-Covid years.
“It is a privilege for the Walkley Foundation to facilitate these highly successful exchange programs. The knowledge gleaned in cross-cultural exchange is invaluable as journalists feed back their discoveries to readers, listeners and viewers.
“The Korean journalists visiting remote parts of our mining belt, for example, will learn about the quest and importance of rare earth minerals first-hand at a time of escalating world demand. As a Foundation committed to excellence in reporting, we are proud to play a part in facilitating this. I would like to thank the Australian journalists and experts who will assist in hosting the international visitors.”
The AKF was established by the Australian Government in 1992 to promote relations between Korea and Australia. The bilateral exchange program aims to increase public awareness of the strong ties between Australia in Korea while showcasing both countries on the global stage. The DFAT funding was announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong this week.