New Zealand

How It Started

The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism program was founded in 1996 by the former U.S. first lady to give journalists the resources they need to write accurately and effectively about mental health, one of the world’s most underreported health issues.

Our Work and Methods

• From 2001 to 2006, 10 New Zealand journalists participated in the fellowship program, receiving stipends and expert training to report on topics related to mental health or mental illness.
• The primary goal of the fellowship program is to increase accurate reporting on mental health issues and, through storytelling, to decrease incorrect or stereotypical information.

Impacts

• Ten journalists received fellowships to study topics such as Maori mental health and the difficulties and special skills needed to deliver mental health services to a multiethnic population.
• In 2006, the self-sustaining New Zealand Mental Health Media Grants program was created to assume the Carter Center’s work in the country. The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and the national anti-stigma campaign “Like Minds, Like Mine” are co-creators and supporters of the program.

The Carter Center’s involvement in New Zealand ended in 2006.