Call for Proposals: We Lead Creatives Grant in Niger

Deadline: 28-May-23

We Lead is launching a call for proposals from creatives and creative hubs in Niger, to produce audio-visual content that sheds light on the often overlooked sexual and reproductive health and rights issues of We Lead rights holders by the company and officials, through the following media and more:

• The movie theater,
• creative design,
• music production,
• On line,
• Content Creation,
• Photography,
• virtual reality and games, and
• The media

Recipients will receive funds to produce content and will also receive business development assistance to be more empowered, independent and critical. This call is only for initiatives that are currently based in Niger.

We Lead is a new, inspiring, innovative and powerful program that aims to improve the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) of young women.

Hivos, through the We Lead program, wants to engage a new generation of creators from across the creative and cultural sector to produce alternative content that will help engage the general public and rights holders for greater health recognition and support. and sexual and reproductive rights of young women and to ensure that rights holders better claim their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The program is implemented in nine countries in Africa, the Middle East and Central America. The We Lead consortium, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is made up of six civil society organizations: Positive Vibes, Restless Development, Marsa, FEMNET, the Central American Women’s Fund, and Hivos as lead partner. M&C Saatchi World Services and NANHRI (Network of African National Human Rights Institutions) are our technical partners.

Aim

• We Lead aims to ensure that rights-holders play a leading role in strengthened and inclusive organizations and movements that have increased public support and have convinced duty-bearers and health service providers to take measures to implement laws, policies and practices that respect and protect the sexual and reproductive health and rights of these young women by 2025.

Priority

• This call is primarily intended for:
  • Entities that represent communities of creators and creators of audiovisual content, such as, but not limited to, the following;
    • Creative spaces
    • Artist groups
    • music studios
    • Activity centers
    • Cafes
    • Art spaces
    • Art Galeries
    • Independent production houses
    • Networks of artists and producers
  • Entities that produce or intend to produce content/works aimed at shedding light on socio-political issues often overlooked by society and which, therefore, challenge certain societal norms. This content/work should enrich public debate by offering alternative viewpoints to dominant societal narratives.
  • Entities that intend to carry out collaborative work to support the creative arts sector and work with content producers in one or more of the following audiovisual sectors:
    • Graphic design
    • Comics / Cartoons
    • Animation
    • Poetry / Slam poetry / Spoken word
    • Tale
    • Music
    • rap/hip-hop
    • TV Show / TV Series / Online Channels
    • Short film / video
    • Feature film / Documentary
    • vlogging
    • Visual art (Painting, Drawing, printmaking, digital art)
    • Multimedia facilities
    • Performance Virtual Reality
    • Video games
  • Entities that integrate new working methods taking into account the restrictions introduced by COVID-19.

Funding Information

• Grants available range from €15,000 (lowest) to €30,000 (highest) for 6 months for the period from July to December.

What do they want to fund?

• Proposals with innovative project ideas that promote increased knowledge about SRHR information and support from the public and decision makers for the following We Lead rights holder groups;
  • Young women living with HIV,
  • young women with disabilities,
  • Young women affected by displacement,
  • Young women from other discriminated socio-cultural groups.
• We Lead has a strong preference for projects that are designed from an intersectional perspective (You can define intersectionality in the context of the project).

Intermediate results of We Lead

• The intermediate results of We Lead:
  • The strengthened CSOs include or are led by young women from four groups of rights holders, and work together within a community of action, to defend and promote their SRHR.
  • The general public increasingly recognizes and supports the SRHR of young women.
  • Health service providers are more aware of the SRHR needs and circumstances of rights-holder groups and increasingly provide accessible, comprehensive, quality, inclusive and respectful SRHR information and services. SRHR. 4.
  • Duty-bearers are increasingly designing, adopting and implementing laws and policies that respect and protect the SRHR of young women belonging to rights-holder groups.

Eligibility Criteria

• Characteristics of the organizations that will be engaged and involved in We Lead:
  • Organization and Leadership
    • Working from a human rights-based approach is an asset.
    • Be open to engaging, coordinating and working with others on the SRHR of rights holders and promoting youth leadership to flourish and develop.
    • Led by rightsholders or having rightsholders in a position of leadership.
    • Be youth-led or have youth in a leadership position (under 35).
    • If the organization is not led by rights holders or by young people “in general”, it must demonstrate a track record and current experiences in actively promoting youth leadership, especially young people rights holders.
    • A progressive, inclusive and feminist perspective on SRHR and in particular on the SRHR of rights holders, adopted by the leadership of the organization, is an asset.
  • Finance and Administration
    • A locally registered and legally respected not-for-profit or for-profit entity with a strong track record and strong financial and administrative capabilities.
    • Have a transparent organizational structure and financial and administrative system in place.
    • The applicant entity must have a bank account in its name with at least two signatories.
    • The applicant entity must have a tax exemption certificate issued by the competent tax authority of the country of origin or operation.
    • The applying entity must provide evidence that it has a sound, standards-compliant financial accounting system that meets the requirements of global best practices.
    • Proof of all the above is mandatory.

For more information, visit Hivos.