Core Support for Independent Media in the Southern Neighborhood

• Eligibility Criteria:
  The following organizations are eligible to apply:
  – Media start-ups; journalism incubators;
  – Innovative media initiatives; 
  – Non-profit and for-profit media organizations; and
  – Individual journalists (freelancers) and entrepreneurs, journalist collectives.
• Type of funding: Core
• Target country: Algeria, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Syria
• Application language: English and Arabic

Maharat Foundation in collaboration with Free Press Unlimited (FPU), is launching an opportunity to apply for the second innovation grant within a program called “Core Support for Independent Media in the Southern Neighborhood” with the support of the European Union.

The overall objective of the grant is to provide short-term, small-scale funding for projects that can advance new or scale up promising media innovations and/or interesting media/journalism collaborations seeking to build a media business and serve local and often under-served audiences (e.g. teenagers/young adults, women/girls, marginalized communities/regions with independent quality information.

The specific objectives are:

1. Pay attention to the unusual suspects and embrace new entrants to the sector, with an emphasis on supporting innovative projects that lead by example. Innovation refers to the development of new ideas, challenges, such as: New media formats (storytelling techniques, transmedia formats etc.), technological advancements (new technologies to enhance the production, distribution, and consumption of media content) audience engagement and participation, accessibility and inclusivity to cater to diverse user needs, and data-driven innovations, etc.
2. Promote diversity i.e. address youth and gender gaps in media representation or provide a voice to marginalized groups. Marginalized groups are defined as social groups that face systematic disadvantage and exclusion within society due to various factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic status. Examples of marginalized groups are Immigrants, Refugees, LGBTQ+ community, People living with disability, racial and ethnic minorities, and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals.

Proposals that don´t address innovation and diversity won´t be considered by the Jury.

See here to learn more and apply.

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