Deadline: 30-Jan-22
Are you a professional journalist, blogger, or vlogger who has recently been forced to leave Belarus as a result of repression from the Lukashenko regime? If yes, then apply for a journalism grant.
The Human Rights Foundation’s (HRF) mission is to promote democracy and human rights where they are systematically denied to people. Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus is one of the most violent and brutal dictatorships in the world, where political dissent is met with extreme brutality. Free elections have not taken place in 26 years.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF)’s Belarus Solidarity Fund is starting a relief program for Belarusian journalists in exile. The program is open to professional journalists, bloggers, and vloggers who have recently been forced to leave Belarus as a result of repression from the Lukashenko regime, and are experiencing financial hardship.
HRF’s Belarus Solidarity Fund Journalist Relief Program will make awards for the following needs:
- Living assistance to prevent homelessness and food insecurity
- Acute medical care and mental health services
- Legal services associated with immigration or work in a foreign country
- Language classes
- Child or dependent care
Funding Information
The program will provide relief payments of $1,500 USD to selected applicants
What will the funds be used for?
- Since its inception, the Belarus Solidarity Fund has provided a lifeline to democracy movements in Belarus. HRF provides modest financial assistance to those Belarusians who have been fired from their jobs, injured, arbitrarily detained, or who face steep fines because of their support for freedom and democracy in Belarus. The fund also provides equipment and assistance to independent journalists who, at great personal risk, continue to cover events in Belarus even in the face of government repression.
- Recipients are carefully vetted by HRF in collaboration with Belarusian nonprofits, civil society organizations, and international human rights experts.
- HRF has also partnered with leaders of the Belarusian diaspora to provide targeted financial aid to striking workers at specific factories, including GrodnoAzot, Belaruskali, Belaz, and Naftan. The idea is to provide support to enough striking workers to effectively shut down operations at each factory, adding more pressure to Lukashenko’s weakening regime.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for this program, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Be a staff or freelance professional reporter, blogger, or vlogger, working in any medium, whose primary occupation is journalism (priority will be given to freelancers and journalists recently forced into exile); OR
- Has worked full-time as a staff or freelance journalist within six months of applying for assistance; AND
- Is experiencing financial hardship directly as a result of the Lukashenko regime’s repression.
For more information, visit HRF.
For more information, visit https://hrf.org/belarus