About this course
This tuition-free course gives journalists from Myanmar the skills to produce and report high-quality journalism, including reporting, research, photography and video shorts ready for local, regional, and international media. You’ll learn from leading photographers, journalists, and editors, meet them in person in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and finish with a story for publication. Our emphasis is visual journalism, but we welcome all types of journalists to the course.
This course runs as a hybrid program. There are ten weeks of online classes, one week together in person in Thailand, then two weeks online to finish your projects.
Who you will learn from
The online weeks are led by Maciek Nabrdalik, a contributing photographer to The VII Foundation and documentary filmmaker. The in-person week is led by Gary Knight, Executive Director of The VII Foundation, photojournalist, writer, and producer. You’ll working with experienced and renowned journalists, including:
- James Nachtwey, the world-renowned conflict photographer (Time Magazine)
- Denis Gray, former AP bureau chief in Bangkok
- Bertil Lintner, former Myanmar correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review
Experts from Agence France-Presse (AFP) teach a dedicated strand on digital verification, fact-checking, and social media. You’ll learn to produce and verify information in the age of generative AI, when trustworthy journalism is under pressure.
What you will cover
The course builds the practical and theoretical groundwork for real assignments, taught through lectures, group discussions, critiques, and hands-on tasks. You will:
- Explore how to develop a lasting career in visual storytelling, including conceiving, researching, and planning project ideas.
- Develop writing skills that will enhance your reporting.
- Understand the ethical challenges as you navigate how to document the lives and stories of others safely and securely.
- Train multimedia techniques, presentation skills, and business practices for freelance journalists.
- Take on problem-solving assignments that unlock ways to work intellectually and emotionally so that your journalism becomes more powerful and subtle.
How the course runs
The course begins on August 31, 2026, with 10 weeks of online classes. Each week opens with a lecture from the course leader or a guest expert on a concept in photojournalism, documentary practice, or journalistic workflow. Then you get your assignment, due before the next class. The assignments cover narrative photojournalism, documentary photography, and time-based media.
Each week you’ll present your work for discussion with the leader and the other students. Everyone is expected to participate. You’re encouraged to edit and critique each other’s work outside class too.
On November 15th, 2026, you’ll meet in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for an intensive week with the photographers and journalists teaching the course. Two weeks of online sessions follow where you finish the project you started.
What the course asks of you
Expect at least six hours a week during the online component, including live classes, meetings, and assignments. Classes run live on Zoom, and you’re required to show up and take part. For the November week, you’ll need to attend in person in Chiang Mai for the full week.
This course is for professionals who need visual journalism training to move their career forward. It’s not a resumé builder. Please don’t apply if you’re enrolled in another education program.
What you will leave with
By the end, you’ll be able to:
- Respond to a story brief professionally and creatively
- See the visual potential in the ideas and situations you research
- Verify the information in your reports
- Get access and permission to photograph people in difficult settings, with the ethical judgment that requires
- Make picture stories or series
- Produce short videos for clients
- Edit your own material
- Work to a deadline
- Keep yourself safe in dangerous conditions
- Present yourself and your work to an editor
Who can apply
The course is only open to journalists from Myanmar. It targets specific gaps in journalism education and practice and supports independent reporting from the country.
Timeline
We email chosen participants to register about two weeks before classes start. If you’re not selected, we’ll let you know once the course is full, which can be a week before the start.
The online leader sets class times around their own schedule and works around participants’ schedules where possible, so some classes may run in the evening. If your work hours are fixed, tell us as early as you can.
Apply now
If you’re eligible (see above) and want a place on this tuition-free course, complete the application form.
Application deadline: July 18, 2026, at 23:59 EST.