The World Press Institute was founded in 1961 and, since then, over 500 international journalists have participated in its fellowship program.
A private, nonprofit organization supported by a wide range of foundations, local and national media, multinational U.S. corporations, and individuals from all over the world, the World Press Institute is located in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
Our Mission
The mission of WPI is to promote and strengthen press freedom throughout the world. To achieve that mission, our goals are to:
- Bring 10 journalists each year from around the world to the United States to experience the complexities of U.S. life through the prism of a reporter working under First Amendment conditions.
- Expose the fellows to U.S. journalistic practices and standards through a series of seminars, briefings and visits to newsrooms, large and small.
- Teach fellows to make use of and understand institutions by assigning them to research and conduct interviews with representatives of government bodies at all levels, multinational corporations, small local companies, philanthropists, colleges and universities, and others.
- Foster reporting accuracy about the U.S. by introducing fellows to a wide variety of U.S. experiences, including people from all walks of life and at different levels of accomplishment; entertainment ranging from classical concerts to block parties; urban and rural lifestyles; science and technology; and issues of race, gender and ethnicity.
- Require fellows to report on a range of social issues to see how people and institutions within the U.S. address them. These include such fundamental issues as food, water, health care, medical technology, crime, religion and drugs.. The topics change annually. Most are of relevance for readers, viewers and listeners everywhere.