Photo: Canon in 2D
MatadorNetwork and MatadorU proudly announce the launch of Road Warriors, a unique, unprecedented partnership with the Belize Tourism Board.
Starting April 7, 2011 and continuing for one year, the most exceptional graduates of MatadorU’s travel writing and travel photography courses will be selected for exclusive long-term assignments that will take them to Belize and immerse them in the country’s culture at ground-level.
Each student who is selected to be a “Road Warrior” will identify a specialized subject of expertise to develop during the course of their stay in Belize, and they will share their experiences and knowledge with readers and viewers through multi-media projects presented on MatadorNetwork, the Belize Road Warriors blog, and other outlets.
All of the Road Warriors’ travel and living expenses will be paid, and they will also receive a salary for their work.
The Matador-Belize Tourism Board partnership is a unique, unprecedented collaboration, establishing new models for both destination marketing AND for making a living as a travel writer or travel photographer. Eschewing the production of traditional marketing content, the Belize Tourism Board is committed to providing MatadorU alumni with the access and resources needed to produce the highest quality ground-level reporting about local people, places, and culture.
The Matador-Belize Tourism Board partnership will also allow Matador to realize one of its long-term goals: to provide people who have typically been the subjects of travel writing and travel photography to produce their own written and visual narratives and present those before a massive audience. MatadorU faculty will be leading workshops in-country for local writers and photographers, and will be sponsoring a contest that awards MatadorU scholarships to promising Belizean writers and photographers who currently lack resources to pursue such a program.
We’re excited about the possibilities of the Matador-Belize Tourism Board partnership, and invite you to follow along the Road Warriors’ journeys.
Road Warriors
Megan Wood, a MatadorU writing alumna, kicked off the Road Warrior project on April 7, 2011.
Lily Girma, a MatadorU photography alumna, was the second Road Warrior.
Norbert Figueroa, a MatadorU writing alumnus, was the third Road Warrior.
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Industry Reviews
"National Geographic Traveler, the world's most widely read travel magazine, is looking to Matador to help us find new talent--writers, photographers, videographers and multimedia reporters."
- Keith Bellows, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER
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Student Testimonials:
"I have learned so much from the U and still continue to learn, it’s truly amazing!" - Lily Girma
"My experience so far in the U has been awesome, and everyone is very helpful" - Sumeet Lakhotia
"Matador definitely knows what they’re doing and in this course they literally give you a playbook to make it happen yourself." - Abha Malpani, Editor - Written RoadView all testimonials →
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