The European Journalism Centre (EJC) is pleased to announce that it has received more than 500 applications in the first round of the Innovation for Development Reporting Grant Programme.
“We are very happy to observe such a high media interest in reporting global development stories. Regardless of the outcome, we are very enthusiastic that over the past two months journalists and media organisations have taken a closer look at and really thought outside of the box when it comes to stories from the developing world. We hope that media houses will keep up this trend, as a well-informed public in the developed world can have a positive impact on policies for the developing world”, said Wilfried Ruetten, EJC Director.
Over the next three weeks, the EJC will evaluate the entries and inform all applicants of the status of their application(s). Due to the large number of submissions, we will however not be able to give individual feedback to unsuccessful candidates. Shortlisted applicants will have one month’s time to submit a complete proposal and provide any necessary supporting documents. The first grants will be announced at the end of May.
Everyone else whose best global development pitch is still on the shelf: don’t be discouraged. On the 3rd of April we will be opening our second call for applications.
In order to give interested candidates sufficient time to prepare powerful proposals we will run a second, longer round over the coming five months, as opposed to the remaining two shorter rounds that were planned initially.
The second and last round to submit entries will run until midnight (24:00) CET on 2 September 2013.
The Innovation for Development Reporting Grant Programme (IDR) was launched in January 2013 by the EJC with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project aims to reward quality journalism and advance a new and distinctive agenda for development coverage.
A selection of state-of-the-art reporting projects of great impact and high visibility will be awarded funding in 2013.
The European Journalism Centre (EJC) is a non-profit international foundation with the remit to improve, strengthen, and underpin journalism and the news media. This mission has two main aspects: On the one hand, it is about safeguarding, enhancing, and future-proofing quality journalism in Europe and on the other hand, it is about supporting initiatives towards press freedom in emerging and developing countries. This often includes creating the framework conditions for independent and self-determined journalism in the first place. To these ends, the EJC provides thematic training, professional capacity development, and a wide range of support activities for journalists.
