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Deadline: 28 February 2019
Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is seeking proposals for its Asia-Pacific Climate Change and Environmental Story Grants to support in-depth and investigative reporting on climate and environmental change that can inform at-risk communities and policy makers to make better decisions and build resilience.
EJN’s Asia-Pacific project aims to overcome these barriers by providing grants and mentorship to individual journalists to report on climate change, environment and natural resource management. This work is made possible with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
Types of Story
- EJN’s seeking in-depth or investigative stories that focus on climate and environmental change or natural resource management in any country or countries within the Asia-Pacific region, with a particular emphasis on how women and other marginalized groups (including youth, indigenous people, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities) are impacted by these changes.
- EJN encourages stories that report on potential solutions and address how vulnerable communities are responding to challenges. They are also highly interested in stories that utilize relevant data to illustrate the issue in a compelling and easy-to-understand way.
- Finally, EJN is looking for stories with the potential to inform policy decisions by addressing domestic or transboundary environmental concerns, such as regional cooperation to tackle climate change.
- For the purposes of this grant call, EJN is accepting applications from South Asia, Southeast Asia, China and the Pacific region but not Australia or New Zealand.
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Criteria
- Journalists (online, print, television, radio) and other expert media practitioners with a track record of reporting on climate change, natural resource management and other environmental issues. EJN encourages applications from freelancers and staff from all types of media –international, national, local and community-based.
- For this round of grants, EJN’s looking for applications from both:
- early career journalists with less than 5 years of reporting experience and;
- mid-level/senior reporters who have at least 5 years of experience.
- The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has agreed to serve as a resource for expert sources and data for the story grant applications from the Pacific.
- Grantees are free to publish or broadcast their stories in their affiliated media as long as EJN and Sida are also given rights to edit, publish, broadcast and distribute them freely. Freelance reporters should demonstrate a plan for publication and are encouraged to provide a letter of interest from an editor.
Story Approach and Format
- EJN expects to award around 30 grants averaging $1,500 depending on the proposal and reporting format. EJN will consider larger awards for in-depth stories using innovative or investigative approaches that may be more costly. Applicants should provide a detailed budget with justification for the amount requested using the template provided. EJN expect that stories will be produced with equipment the applicant already has access to (including cameras, drones, lighting, tripods, etc.) and will not consider budgets that heavily focus on procuring new supplies.
- EJN also encourage the use of multimedia and new or unique media platforms to present and share the stories. Applicants with ideas for long-form and multimedia narratives should include plans and budget for these accompanying elements (i.e. video, photos) and distribution channels in their pitch.
- Stories can be produced in English or local languages, or both. Applicants who intend to write or produce stories in the local language need to also include the English translation. Please include the cost for translation in the budget, if necessary.
- Please also note on their budget form if they are receiving funding from other donors.
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Expected Story Lengths
- Text-based stories: 1,000 to 3,000 words
- Photo stories: 10-20 images with descriptive captions and a short 200-400 word introduction
- Multimedia package: Text between 600 to 1,500 words with 2-4 minute video and/or graphics, photos and maps
- Broadcast: Video piece around 4-6 minutes in length with a short, roughly 200-word introduction
- Audio report/podcast: Feature of up to 20 minutes in length with short text to summarize the audio.
Judging Criteria
Applicants should consider the following points when devising their story proposals
- Timing
- Relevance
- Angle
- Impact
- Innovative storytelling
- Feasibility
- Diversity
How to Apply
Interested applicants can apply online via the given website.
For more information, please visit https://earthjournalism.net/opportunities/call-for-proposals-asia-pacific-climate-change-and-environmental-story-grants