Deadline: January 30, 2024
Applications are open for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) Reporting Democracy Grants for Journalists 2024. Reporting Democracy is inviting journalists from Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe to submit proposals for compelling stories that shed light on democracy issues facing the region.
This grant opportunity aims to support analytical and investigative journalism, advocate for media freedom, and amplify voices addressing social justice, the rule of law, minority rights, equality, access to public services and other topics pertinent to human rights. Journalists are encouraged to pitch story ideas on relevant subjects falling under the umbrella of Reporting Democracy.
Grant
- Grants, each valued 2,000 Euros, are available for professional freelance or staff journalists with proposals for investigative, analytical or feature pieces.
Eligibility
- Grants are available to journalists from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
- Formal applicants can be individual journalists (working as part of newsroom structures as well as freelancers) or teams (e.g., reporter, producer, photographer, video editor) with the designated team leader being the contract signatory.
- A maximum of ten grants will be awarded in this cycle, and each applicant may submit only one application under this grant scheme.
- Cross-border approaches are encouraged
- Eligible expenses include fees, travel expenses and various production costs (documents, videographer, photographer, etc).
Evaluation Criteria
- Step I: Technical evaluation by BIRN staff to ensure applicants followed application procedures and submitted all required documents.
- Step II: Evaluation by the editorial board to select applicants based on criteria such as:
- Quality and originality of the proposed idea;
- Feasibility of the proposed plan;
- Ability to reach a broad public.
- Step III: Notification of applicants.
Successful candidates will be informed within two weeks after the close of the call.
Application
The application form must be completed in English, and additional documentation can be submitted in an online format. Clarifications will only be requested when the provided information is insufficient for an objective assessment.
The deadline for submission is 23:59 CET on January 30, 2024.
For more information, visit Reporting Democracy Grants.
