Story Grant and Training Program

Summary:

EJN is offering reporting grants to Indigenous journalists to support the production of in-depth environmental stories that call attention to climate justice, biodiversity, sustainable ecosystems, Indigenous sovereignty and leadership, and other issues related to the rights and well-being of Indigenous peoples and communities.

Please read the following sections carefully, as they contain important information on eligibility and the application process.

Overview:

Indigenous peoples persist and thrive with vibrant cultures, deep connections to lands and territories, and more than 4,000 unique languages spoken globally.

Indigenous lawyers and land defenders have also overseen some of the most powerful legal environmental battles and victories, from Waorani people defending swathes of Amazon rainforest and ancestral territory from oil development in Ecuador, to Masaai leaders inventing new legal mechanisms to protect Masaai lands in Tanzania, to Saami mobilization working to divest Norway from fossil fuels.

The stewardship of ecosystems, however, comes at a deep cost to Indigenous peoples and nations, who have faced historical and ongoing forms of colonization and dispossession. These battles continue today, with an estimated 34% of all lethal attacks on land defenders in 2022 carried out against Indigenous people. Indigenous sovereignty, land rights and safety are under threat by governments and corporations seeking to exploit natural resources, even as Indigenous communities bear the brunt of climate impacts and environmental degradation.

Despite the importance of Indigenous voices in environmental issues and reporting, there remains an indefensible lack of Indigenous representation and Indigenous-led platforms in the media. In Latin America, for instance, only 3% of people portrayed in the news are from Indigenous or tribal groups, despite making up at least 8% of the population. In the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to an estimated 70% of the world’s Indigenous populations, the UN reports that outlets “have so far failed to fully support the inclusive participation of Indigenous peoples.” And in the U.S., less than 1% of workers in newsrooms are Native.

To increase Indigenous representation in environmental reporting, EJN is launching a training program for 8 to 9 Indigenous journalists, with support from Nia Tero, looking to investigate and produce stories about these varied issues.

As part of the program, we’ll pair each journalist with an Indigenous journalist mentor, facilitate networking opportunities between experts and the selected journalists and offer a story grant up to $1,400 each. Selected journalists will also participate in two additional training opportunities: A synchronous, discussion-based online course on Indigenous journalism with access to the instructor and a one-day virtual workshop to deepen their storytelling skills and engage with subject-matter experts from around the world.

Story themes:

We welcome story ideas from journalists who identify as Indigenous and/or belonging to a tribe (see the Eligibility section for more information on this) that explore how environmental and climate change issues are linked to the rights and well-being of Indigenous peoples and communities. We are particularly interested in stories that:

• Explore environmental solutions and resiliency led by Indigenous Peoples;
• Focus on sustainable resource use, Indigenous agriculture and traditional grazing and/or land management practices as a solution to address the climate, health and biodiversity crises;
• Investigate land rights and environmental sovereignty, including historical precedent and legal frameworks;
• Highlight the threats faced by Indigenous environmental defenders; and
• Expose governments, corporations and other powerful actors who fail to meet commitments to include Indigenous Peoples or intentionally sideline them as leaders in decision-making around climate and environmental issues.

Proposals that focus on topics or stories that have not been widely covered are preferred. Issues that have already received a lot of media coverage or don’t provide unique angles to environmental challenges are less likely to be selected.

Eligibility:

Applicants must self-identify as Indigenous or belonging to a tribe and will be asked to provide details on their Indigenous or tribal affiliations in the application. EJN is utilizing the ILO Convention No. 169 as a baseline for eligibility and will seek to establish a diverse cohort from a wide range of Indigenous and tribal communities and nations.

Applicants can be from any country in the world.

Journalists who have previously received Indigenous Story Grants from EJN in 2021 and/or 2022 are eligible for this opportunity, but preference will be given to those who have not yet received support.

Journalists who are not Indigenous are not eligible for this opportunity; however, we will accept applications from pairings or teams of Indigenous and non-Indigenous journalists. In these cases, the Indigenous journalist must be the lead applicant, or the application will be disqualified. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded. Please note non-Indigenous journalists are welcome as collaborators in the story grant but will not be eligible to participate in the other networking or training opportunities that are part of this program.

For the purposes of this grant opportunity, we will only be accepting applications in English. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time. Applicants must have a sufficient understanding of English to participate in the workshop, which will be held in English, and to take the course, which is available in both English and Spanish.

Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other expert media practitioners with investigative reporting experience and a history of covering environmental issues. We encourage applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations – international, national, local and community-based.

Please note: For this call, EJN invites applicants to pitch their story ideas in the form of a short video or a written proposal. You will have the ability to choose your preference in the application form.

Judging criteria:

Applicants should consider the following points when devising their story proposals.

• Relevance: Does the proposal meet the criteria and objectives of the call? Why does this story matter and to whom? Is the main idea, context and overall value to the target audience clearly defined?
• Angle: If the story has been covered, does your proposal bring new insights to the topic or offer a fresh angle?
• Reach: Does the proposed media outlet have a wide reach? Journalists publishing their work at outlets that typically restrict content behind paywalls are encouraged to secure commitments to publish from additional outlets, or request an exception to ensure their EJN-supported story remains accessible to audiences.
• Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative or investigative element that will inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate and spur action?
• Innovative storytelling: The use of creative approaches, multimedia and data visualization will be considered a plus.
• Plan for timely publication: Reporters, whether freelance or employed at a media outlet, will need to include a letter of support from an editor in their application, committing to publish the stories by October 31, 2024. No extensions will be given.

Application Deadline :

18 January 2024, 11:59 PM, Pacific/Niue (UTC -11)

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