Deadline: 31 January 2019
Internews is seeking applications for Open Iraq Initiative to transform Public Data into Citizen Engagement for Gender Equality.
Building on Internews’ long established expertise in data journalism, the Open Iraq initiative aims to promote the participation of Iraqi women in governance by enabling them to access, analyze, and use data on government budgets and advocate for gender equality in public expenditure.
Budgets are at the core of good governance and policymaking: fair, efficient budget allocation facilitates women’s participation and benefits development and contributes to economic growth and stability. Data can help identify beneficiaries of public services and potential fiscal disincentives for women’s participation in the workforce. It also allows for analysis of gender-relevant government spending on health and education; for example, programs encouraging school enrollment for girls.
Open data initiatives help to enable journalists and civil society members nationwide to transform public data into actionable policy platforms.
Activities take place in two phases: the Gender Data Lab in April 2019 and the Data Story Incubator in the fall of 2019. The course will be offered in Arabic, Kurdish and English.
The Gender Data Lab will deliver a 10-day deep dive for journalists and women’s rights advocates focusing on communication skills around a specific area of gender responsive budgeting (i.e., reproductive health or measures to combat GBV). The lab will introduce five principle themes: introduction to data-driven public interest reporting; finding data sources and hypothesis-driven story development; statistical principles for data storytelling; data visualization; and data-driven narrative storytelling. Participants who successfully complete the initial lab will also be required to participate in a five-day Data Story Incubator the same year to produce original data-driven visual content and qualify for a data storytelling small grants pool.
Program Format
The Open Iraq training sessions, story incubators, and ongoing mentorship will be conducted over an 8-month period beginning in April 2019. By the end of the period, participants will be expected to have published locally led media or advocacy content pieces that explore the impact of government spnding on gender equality and women empowerment.
Eligibility Criteria
The project will select the most qualified applicants who meet the following criteria:
- A demonstrated ability to examine an issue from multiple angles.
- Commitment to telling public interest stories.
- Clear idea of issues the applicant is seeking to cover with data.
- Ability to problem-solve.
Basic Requirements
- More than 2 years of experience in a print, online or audio-visual media outlet, research-oriented civil society organization or tech hub
- Experience in advocacy and/or reporting on gender issues
- Experience or credible interest/commitment to data journalism and/or data-driven communications.
How to Apply
Applicants can apply via given website.
For more information, please visit https://www.internews.org/open-iraq-initiative-transforming-public-data-citizen-engagement-gender-equality