Deadline: 25-Sep-2026
Africa No Filter is inviting individual storytellers from 11 African countries to participate in the Voices for Climate Justice initiative, delivered in partnership with Comic Relief. Selected participants will receive 12 months of training, mentorship, content amplification, and grants of up to US$4,000 to create original stories about climate change, debt, fossil fuels, and their impacts on African communities.
About the Voices for Climate Justice Initiative
The Voices for Climate Justice initiative supports African storytellers who can bring local perspectives and lived experiences into conversations about climate change and climate finance.
The initiative recognises that many African countries have contributed relatively little to the global climate crisis while experiencing significant climate-related impacts and financial pressures.
Through storytelling, the programme aims to shift public conversations around climate justice, debt-driven climate finance, fossil fuels, and the unequal effects of climate change.
The initiative is delivered by Africa No Filter in partnership with Comic Relief and is expected to support approximately 15 to 20 storytellers.
What Does the Programme Offer?
Selected storytellers will receive a comprehensive 12-month support package designed to strengthen both their storytelling skills and the impact of their work.
Support includes:
- Training in climate justice.
- Data storytelling training.
- Narrative framing.
- Individual or professional mentorship.
- Content amplification.
- Opportunities to connect with other storytellers.
- Financial support for producing original stories.
The programme is designed for creators who can use their existing platforms and storytelling skills to engage audiences and encourage action.
Grant Amount
Selected participants may receive grants of up to US$4,000.
The funding is intended to help storytellers develop and produce original content connected to climate justice.
Proposed stories should explore issues such as:
- Climate change.
- Climate-related debt.
- Fossil fuels.
- Climate finance.
- Community experiences.
- Gendered impacts of climate change.
- Social and economic consequences of environmental challenges.
What Stories Is the Programme Looking For?
The initiative encourages stories that centre the lived experiences of African communities.
Applicants should consider how climate change and related financial and environmental pressures affect people in their communities.
Particular attention is given to:
- How climate change affects different communities.
- The relationship between climate change and debt.
- The role and impact of fossil fuels.
- Gender-specific effects of climate and economic challenges.
- Local experiences that are often missing from international climate discussions.
- Stories that can generate public conversation and encourage action.
Who Is Eligible?
The programme is open to individual storytellers aged 18 or above who are based in one of the eligible countries.
Eligible countries are:
Eligible storyteller categories include:
- Journalists.
- Content creators.
- Podcasters.
- Vloggers.
- Muralists.
- Data visualizers.
Only individuals can apply.
Platform and Audience Requirements
Applicants must demonstrate an established and engaged audience or platform.
Their platform should have been active for more than one year.
Examples of qualifying platforms include:
- Podcasts.
- YouTube channels.
- TikTok.
- Facebook.
- Instagram.
- Publications.
- Data visualization portfolios.
Content creators must have a combined audience of at least 5,000 followers.
Journalists may demonstrate their reach through the circulation or audience of their publication.
Who Cannot Apply?
The initiative does not accept applications from organisations or agencies.
The applicant must be an individual storyteller who meets the location, age, experience, platform, and audience requirements.
How to Apply
Step 1: Confirm Your Country and Age
Check that you are at least 18 years old and based in one of the 11 eligible African countries.
Step 2: Identify Your Storytelling Category
Determine whether you are applying as a journalist, content creator, podcaster, vlogger, muralist, data visualizer, or another eligible storytelling professional.
Step 3: Demonstrate Your Platform
Provide evidence that your platform has been active for more than one year.
Content creators should also demonstrate the required audience of at least 5,000 combined followers.
Step 4: Develop a Climate Justice Story Idea
Create a strong concept focused on the lived experiences of African communities.
Your proposed story should have a clear connection to climate justice and may explore climate change, debt, fossil fuels, climate finance, or gendered impacts.
Step 5: Explain Your Audience Impact
Show how your existing platform can help the story reach audiences and contribute to meaningful public discussion.
Step 6: Submit Your Application
Provide the required information about your storytelling experience, platform, audience, and proposed project according to the programme’s application requirements.
Application Tips
Applicants can strengthen their proposals by:
- Choosing a specific and compelling community story.
- Clearly connecting the story to climate justice.
- Highlighting lived experiences rather than relying only on general climate statistics.
- Explaining the gendered impacts where relevant.
- Demonstrating an established and engaged audience.
- Showing previous examples of impactful storytelling.
- Explaining how the proposed content can encourage public discussion or action.
- Using credible data while maintaining a strong human-interest perspective.
Why It Matters
Climate change affects communities differently, and many local African experiences receive limited attention in international climate conversations.
The Voices for Climate Justice initiative gives local storytellers resources, training, mentorship, and funding to bring these perspectives to wider audiences.
By combining climate justice education, data storytelling, narrative development, and content production, the programme aims to strengthen African voices in discussions about climate, finance, fossil fuels, inequality, and sustainable development.
Key Programme Details
- Programme: Voices for Climate Justice
- Lead organisation: Africa No Filter
- Partner: Comic Relief
- Target participants: Individual African storytellers
- Age requirement: 18+
- Eligible countries: Mozambique, Uganda, Nigeria, Angola, Chad, Republic of Congo, Tanzania, South Sudan, Malawi, and Zambia
- Support duration: 12 months
- Maximum grant: US$4,000
- Expected participants: 15–20 storytellers
- Minimum platform activity: More than 1 year
- Minimum audience for content creators: 5,000 combined followers
- Eligible formats: Journalism, digital content, podcasts, vlogs, murals, and data visualization
- Organisations/agencies: Not eligible
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Voices for Climate Justice initiative?
It is a 12-month programme supporting African storytellers to create compelling content about climate justice, climate change, debt, fossil fuels, and their impacts on communities.
How much funding can selected storytellers receive?
Selected participants can receive up to US$4,000 to develop and produce original stories.
Who can apply?
Individual journalists, content creators, podcasters, vloggers, muralists, and data visualizers aged 18 or older can apply if they are based in one of the eligible countries and meet the programme’s other requirements.
Which countries are eligible?
Applicants must be based in Mozambique, Uganda, Nigeria, Angola, Chad, Republic of Congo, Tanzania, South Sudan, Malawi, or Zambia.
Do applicants need an established audience?
Yes. Applicants must have an active platform that has been operating for more than one year. Content creators must have a combined audience of at least 5,000 followers.
Can organisations or agencies apply?
No. The programme is specifically designed for individual storytellers, so organisations and agencies are not eligible.
What kind of stories does the programme support?
The programme seeks original stories showing the lived experiences of African communities and examining issues such as climate change, debt, fossil fuels, climate finance, and gendered climate impacts.
Conclusion
The Voices for Climate Justice Initiative offers African storytellers an opportunity to combine financial support, professional training, mentorship, and content amplification to create impactful climate justice stories. With grants of up to US$4,000 and a 12-month development programme, the initiative is particularly valuable for established individual storytellers who can use their platforms to bring underrepresented African perspectives into global conversations about climate change and inequality.
For more information, visit Africa No Filter.
