Call for Proposals to promote Media Activism and Counter Disinformation and Polarization

Deadline: 25-Feb-24

The Novi Sad School of Journalism is inviting proposals for projects aimed at increasing the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) in urban and rural areas to promote media activism and counter disinformation and polarization.

The Novi Sad School of Journalism in cooperation with its partners the Network for the Professionalization of Media in Southeast Europe (SEENPM) and its members Mediacentar Sarajevo, the Albanian Media Institute, the Kosovo Press Council, the Macedonian Media Institute, the Montenegrin Media Institute, the Peace Institute and Bianet is launching a three-year project. “Our media: Initiative to improve media literacy, dialogue and activism”.

The primary focus of this project is to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations, media professionals, young activists and citizens to improve their understanding of trends and challenges related to media freedom and media integrity, as well as media development and sustainability in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

The project opens research activities that will seek to identify the main trends, risks and opportunities for media sustainability in the region, and map good practices in media activism in support of media freedom and media and information literacy (MIL). The results of the research will be used to strengthen the capacity of media CSOs and other stakeholders to face challenges in the media sector.

Goals

Specific goals
- Involve civil society organizations to actively contribute to the creation of media literacy practices in urban and rural areas.
- Encourage civil society organizations to get involved in educating citizens about the important role of free media, ethical standards of journalism and the threats that polarization and misinformation pose to stability in the region.
- Support civil society organizations in providing knowledge, platforms and tools to citizens in order to actively exercise their rights to reliable and responsible media.
- Support civil society organizations in promoting gender equality and representing underrepresented groups in media reports.
- Enable the participation of local civil society organizations in regional networks that deal with the exchange of knowledge and experience, spreading successful practices of media activism.
- Enable the transfer of knowledge about project creation, implementation and grant management between experienced CSOs operating in regional centers/capital cities and civil society organizations from smaller cities and rural areas with potential for local influence, but less developed capacities.

Funding Information

The total amount of financial resources in this call is EUR 45,000.
The project for which the application is submitted must be between a minimum of 7,000 and a maximum of 15,500 euros.

Duration

The duration of the project must be between 9 and 18 months.

Expected Results

Increased number of MFA initiatives, tools and solutions available to citizens thanks to the engagement of civil society organizations.
Citizens in urban and rural areas better understand the role of the media, the professional standards of journalism, the ethical standards that media reporting should meet in order to be considered reliable.
Citizens understand the threats and actively oppose polarization in the media.
Citizens demand high-quality media content, without misinformation, they become familiar with the mechanisms available at the local/national level in order to express their needs and expectations from the media, they actively contribute to the shaping of a professional media environment.
Civil society organizations develop capacities for designing, managing and promoting media activism and media literacy projects.
Insufficiently experienced CSOs from smaller towns and rural areas promoted through cooperation projects with more experienced organizations.

Eligible Activities

Educational activities: Workshops, trainings, camps, hackathons, intended to conduct specific citizen actions that deal with a wide range of media literacy, including, but not limited to, professional standards of the media, ethical standards of journalism, moderation of content on social networks, hate speech and propaganda, misinformation, polarization, mechanisms for citizens to influence the quality of media coverage, mechanisms of change in local communities.
Communication activities, such as production and distribution of media content, podcasts, campaigns, reporting on gender equality and minority groups. The focus of media content should be on promoting media education and knowledge about the role of professional and independent media, standards of professional media reporting, the importance of ethical media reporting, regulatory and self-regulatory mechanisms and ways in which citizens can influence their media environment by using those mechanisms, etc.
Development of accessible resources for media literacy (publications, guidelines, didactic tools) based on the most advanced practices at the regional, EU and global level.
Public events such as public debates, panel discussions with experts, gatherings of citizens and journalists with the aim of exchanging knowledge and opinions, and discussions between relevant actors about current events that are relevant to media freedom, media literacy, safety of journalists, representation of women in the media, representation of minorities and marginalized groups, etc., at the local, national and regional level.
Small-scale research related to a better understanding of media use, key sources of polarization, the level of media literacy of the rural population, the situation of men and women in local media, etc. The research must be justified, related to the project activities and must not be a predominant part of the project.
Advocacy activities that encourage citizens to exercise their right to demand professional and reliable media and equal treatment: sending letters to media editors, civil society organizations, politicians, representatives of the international community, networks of civil society organizations, local civil society organizations, media; organizing visits to public institutions, media houses, regulatory and self-regulatory bodies focused on specific problems recognized by civil society and citizens, street actions, exhibitions, media campaigns, development and promotion of policy recommendations.

Eligibility Criteria

The invitation is open to CSOs in Serbia. With this Call for Project Proposals, they especially encourage partner projects of CSOs.
The call is open to both individual applicants and partnerships formed between developed civil society organizations located in urban areas (larger centers and capital cities) and local CSOs operating in smaller towns and rural areas. Preference will be given to partnerships.
The conditions for submitting a proposal to this call are as follows:
- Submitter of the project proposal (applicant):
  - has the status of a legal entity, established and registered in Serbia, in accordance with national and local laws and regulations;
  - actively works in the field of media, freedom of expression or digital technologies, as well as education, human rights or gender equality, which is obvious from its founding documents.
  - has been actively working for at least one year (registered before January 10, 2023), which is proven by a registration document;
- Project partner (co-applicant)
  - has the status of a legal entity, established and registered in Serbia, in accordance with national and local laws and regulations;
- Note on project partnership
  - desirable that the project partnership includes at least one CSO operating in small towns and rural areas, which is proven by experience in previous projects.
  - Interstate partnerships are not allowed within this Call for Project Proposals.
  - One organization in this call can participate in two project proposals, once as an applicant and the second time as a partner. As a partner organization can participate in two different projects.