The groundbreaking Women in News (WIN) programme, launched by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in 2010, is now accepting applications from women media professionals from either the business or editorial side of newspapers in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.

WIN is a high-impact capacity building programme that equips participants with the skills, strategies and support networks to progress to leading roles within their news organisations.

To date, almost 50 percent of the women enrolled in the programme have progressed to higher levels of responsibility within their organisations, or made a lateral move of their choosing.

"WIN has given me my professional vision. It has given me my educational vision. And it has given me growth. The bottom line is growth," says Leatile Gaolape, HR Coordinator for The Guardian Sun in Botswana. "I've realized that I am now capable of being a leader, I feel more responsible and I have learned to come up with solutions."

"We are delighted to see the WIN programme continue to its third year. As part of our strategic partnership with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, WAN-IFRA has spent the past two years investing significantly in creating models of excellence that can be replicated in other markets with relative ease," said Larry Kilman, Deputy CEO of WAN-IFRA.

"WIN is the direct outcome of this collaborative partnership with Sida, and illustrates WAN-IFRA's strategic focus for media development. We believe the innovative model and its results solidify our reputation for pioneering sustainable capacity building solutions. We look forward to a successful 2012 programme, and the exciting potential of taking WIN to new markets across Africa and Asia in the months to come."

Application forms can be downloaded at: www.womeninnews.org