Fellow Yi-Ning Tzeng, at a special school in Thailand where
kids learn food production skills, including raising chickens

Journalists praise indigenous focus, spirit of Jefferson Fellowship
(Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; Honolulu, Hawaii)—The just concluded 2025 Jefferson Fellowship that I helped to coordinate was one of the highlights of my long professional career. Based on the post-program evaluations filled out by the Jeff fellows, I’m not alone in this assessment.

The East-West Center’s Jefferson Fellowship each year takes 10-12 journalists from the Asia Pacific region on a study and reporting tour. This month, the program included 12 journalists who studied and reported about food security from Honolulu; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Chiang Rai and Bangkok, Thailand.

In a discussion on the final day of the program last week, the journalists pointed out the aspects of the study and reporting tour that they most appreciated. At the top of the list was the program’s focus on indigenous food security and production, illustrated by our visits to the He’eia Fishpond in Hawaii and Javara indigenous food production and marketing organization in Indonesia. Others pointed to the fellows’ visit to the World Food Program in Bangkok, to CNN-Indonesia, and to the  APTERR rice reserve in Bangkok as highlights.

In post program surveys, the journalists were effusive in their praise for the 2025 Jefferson Fellowship, and enthused about the quality and quantity of their learning and of the source materials they collected for their reporting.  Fellow Se Eun Gong write, "The fellowship equipped us with the language and conceptual tools for reporting on the topic, but also with ideas and knowledge about who to talk to." Jeff Sabeen Arshad agreed, writing that the speakers and field trips "provided insights info comparative frameworks between the countries of the region, and equipped me to file stories related to food security...in the best way." Fellow Danielle Keaton-Olson praised the program's execution, noting, "I loved how well the program built upon itself structurally and informationally."

Journalist Kate Green at a solemn certificate-
awarding ceremony.

Personally, I couldn’t have enjoyed more my interactions and travel with these fellows, who were consistently lively and entertaining. They were all good travelers—not a whiner in the bunch! The group’s cohesion was gratifying to witness. For example, one of the fellows couldn’t travel to Indonesia and Thailand because of visa issues. The other Jeffs, knowing his disappointment, showered him with gifts purchased abroad which filled up half of one of my suitcases. One Jeff described the environment as “nurturing,” and I couldn’t agree more. 

At the program’s conclusion, I received many heartwarming messages from the fellows, either in person or by text. One such message kindly thanked me for my part in facilitating the fellowship, and added, “It was a terrific experience for me, and I’m happy we got to do it with you.”

Jefferson Fellows, it was a terrific experience for me, too. And I am also happy that I got to do it with all of you.

The 2025 Jefferson Fellows in Chiang Rai, Thailand