Last Updated on September 21, 2022
Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is offering up to 20 reporting grants to youth journalists in the Asia-Pacific region, to support the production of in-depth stories on environmental and climate injustice.
Traditional media often overlook or under-report issues that are of central concern to youth and marginalized communities – such as environmental and climate injustice. Environmental injustice, or the fact that some communities bear unequal environmental burdens and are at greater risk of being harmed by resource extraction, environmental degradation and pollution, “remains largely absent in the daily news cycle” finds Nieman Reports.
At the same time, as independent media outlets around the world struggle to remain viable, opportunities for journalism students, and emerging and early-career journalists have grown scarce; even more so when youth journalists are from marginalized communities, such as indigenous peoples and ethnic minority groups.
To help fill this gap, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network is awarding story grants to selected youth journalists in the Asia-Pacific region to carry out environmental justice reporting.
Grant
- EJN is pleased to offer around 20 story grants of USD $1,000 each on the average to youth journalists aged 30 and below from the Asia-Pacific to produce innovative and engaging stories on environmental and climate issues in the region.
Eligibility
- Youth journalists (aged between 15 to 30) from low- and middle-income countries within the Asia-Pacific region are welcome to apply.
- They especially invite applications from youth who also identify as:
- Women
- LGBTQIA+
- Ethnic/Cultural/religious minorities
- Indigenous peoples
- Persons with physical challenges and/or cognitive impairments
- Groups of journalists, including from different countries, who wish to submit a joint application are eligible. However, the application must be made in the name of one lead applicant. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded.
Judging Criteria
Applicants should consider the following points when devising their story proposals.
- Relevance: Does the proposal draw attention to the experiences of youth and marginalized groups? Does it highlight environmental injustice issues?
- Angle: If the story has been covered, does your proposal bring new insights to the topic or offer a fresh angle?
- Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative that will inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate and spur action?
- Innovative storytelling: They are especially interested in supporting journalists eager to explore more innovative ways of storytelling. Creative approaches, multimedia and data visualization will be considered a plus.
- Plan for timely publication: They encourage reporters, whether freelance or employed at a media outlet, to include a letter of support from an editor in their application.
Application
Application deadline is October 5, 2022. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
For more information, visit Environmental Justice Reporting Story Grants.
Deadline: October 5, 2022