Grant Scheme for Media Professionals in the Western Balkans

• Eligibility Criteria
  – Must be an individual, media outlet, association or organisation from the Western Balkans;
  – The applicant (organisation) must be established in one of the Western Balkan countries, before 1 January 2022;
  – The media outlets should already have made journalistic content publicly available before 1 January 2022;
  – The applicant has at least two (2) years experience in content production or other form of engagement in the media sector and, if a student, the applicant must be in their final year of university studies, and no professional experience is required.
• Type of Funding: Programmatic
• Target Region: Europe
• Application Language: English

The Western Balkans Media for Change project announces the grant-funding scheme for individuals, media outlets, associations and other organisations from the Western Balkans.

The Western Balkans Media for Change project is funded by the UK Government and implemented by the British Council in partnership with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Thomson Foundation (TF), and The International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC). It supports the work of media outlets and individual journalists from the Western Balkan countries.

One of the six areas that the scheme supports is the Priority area 1: Validation of a business idea, or the Validation Booster programme. The programme targets individuals from the Western Balkans that can act as “intrapreneurs” – people who work for media outlets or CSOs and launch new products/services or initiatives inside the existing entities.

The call aims to support projects focused on quality, engaging and innovative content production, local and regional collaboration, professional development, internships, networking, mobility, and validation of business ideas. Specifically, six priority areas fall into this call:

• Validation of a business idea
• Content production through learning, mobility or collaboration
• Strengthening public broadcasting service content and audience reach
• Audience development and engagement
• Networking support
• Promoting quality professional and ethical journalism

Applicants whose ideas get approved will receive:

• Financial support through awarded grants
• Mentorship in the domain of business development during the five-month-long acceleration process.

The programme has two identical cycles, both a total duration of 5 (five) months. Applicants may apply for the first or the second cycle, depending on what suits them or their media better:

• I cycle: April 2024 – August 2024
• II cycle: October 2024 – February 2025

Funding Information

• Grants for individuals – ceiling of up to GBP 4,000
• Grants for initiatives – ceiling of up to GBP 4,000
• Grants for media outlets / organisations – ceiling of up to GBP 10,000

See here to learn more and apply.

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