Deadline: October 29, 2017
The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and Media Diversity Institute (MDI) are seeking new ways to make entertaining, credible, high-quality news and information accessible to audiences in the region neighboring Russia. With countries in the region neighboring Russia facing the growing trends of state- and oligarch-controlled media, fake news, and propaganda, Eurasian audiences are being increasingly exposed to biased information.
At the same time, they also face many common challenges, from financial woes to global health issues and the threat of radicalized groups, which require quality objective coverage. The millions of people affected by these challenges need to understand them in order to make better decisions, strive for better lives, and call for change. New and more creative ways of informing people and broadening the audience for entertaining but informative, high-quality content must be found.
The ICFJ and the MDI with selected partners and experts from the region will help talented local individuals, media, civil society representatives and others, to develop new ways to inform and engage audiences with entertaining, locally-relevant, high-quality content.
Benefits
- This program will offer grants between $5,000 and $100,000 to successful applicants who propose innovative and entertaining projects to provide quality news and information to Russian-speaking populations in Eurasia;
- Selected applicants will receive the funds needed to cover the costs of their projects, expert mentoring, and technical assistance to support their projects’ development.
Eligibility
- Contest is open to content producers interested in reaching Russian-speaking audiences in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan;
- Projects may center on video, film, radio, mobile apps, game development, or other innovative media platforms. Preference will be given to projects that apply creative, appealing formats to present information.
- Only Russian-language projects will be considered.
Application
- Complete the application form.
- Prepare your CV and project budget for upload during application.
On March 9, ICFJ and the Media Diversity Institute (MDI) held a webinar for potential applicants to ask questions about the program. You can view a recording of the webinar here.
For more information, visit Eurasia Media Innovation Challenge.
