Grants to Strengthen Press Freedom in Zimbabwe

Deadline: 03-Apr-2022

The Public Diplomacy (PD) Section at the U.S. Embassy in Harare has announced an open competition for local NGOs and institutions to submit applications to carry out low to medium cost initiatives that leverage partnerships with American institutions to improve and promote adherence to international best practice in implementing fundamental freedom of speech and the press freedom and to promote press freedom in one of the three categories:

Strengthening public understanding of freedom of speech and press freedom: The objective is to improve and promote adherence to international best practice in implementing fundamental freedom of speech and press freedom. Priority will be given to proposals that integrate awareness and understanding of American culture, media, society, history and/or current events, as well as of shared American-Zimbabwean values and interests.
Media Literacy to Combat Disinformation: The program will work to increase public resilience to disinformation and misinformation campaigns. Successful proposals will include ideas to increase public understanding of, and to push back against, disinformation and misinformation activities. Activities and work funded with this award may include (but should not be limited to):
- Investigative reporting;
- Public debates and moderated discussions; and/or
- Digital engagements
Media Sustainability, Innovation and Professionalization: The PD Section will accept proposals from organizations that seek to assist emerging news organizations- online and offline- develop and adopt business plans or strategies and diversify revenue to ensure their survival in challenging economic times. Initiatives should help news outlets harness the power of digital tools as well as community resources to create sustainable media businesses that provide news and information in the public interest.

Goals

The goal of this program is to strengthen ties between the United States and Zimbabwe’s journalism and media institutions to:

Increase public awareness of international best practices in fundamental freedom of speech and a free press.
Increase public resilience to disinformation and misinformation campaigns through expanding or increasing outlets for sharing verified information to the public.
Develop the institutional networks that result in greater competitiveness and sustainability of independent media outlets through ethical and innovative approaches to generating income and professional partnerships.
Support independent news and information media outlets (broadcast, online, and print) that are committed to factual, objective and thorough reporting of identified issues including but not limited to Health, Entrepreneurship, Human Rights and Labor, Peace and Conflict resolution, Green Energy, Cyber Security, and Anticorruption.
Support innovative approaches to using technology, including alternative delivery platforms, to more effectively inform Zimbabwean audiences. Key outcomes include, but not limited to, the ability of news outlets to cover or investigate previously challenging assignments, reach more audiences, and journalists are better informed on selected subjects; expand access to local and international sources of information.