The second round of travel subsidies for journalists interested in attending and covering conferences and international summits on biodiversity in 2023 has been announced by the Earth Journalism Network (EJN).
Journalists from all around the world will have the chance to cover biodiversity-related conferences and discussions for their domestic audiences.
Journalists’ budget proposals can include economy-class airfare, accommodation, meals, travel insurance, visa costs, mandatory COVID-19 testing, and transportation costs for journalists to attend the conference of their choosing.
Budget requests from journalists may include expenses for economy-class travel, lodging, food, travel insurance, visa fees, required COVID-19 testing, and transportation expenditures to attend the conference of their choice.
The following criteria will be used to evaluate applicants: prior experience writing about biodiversity and other environmental issues; precise reporting plans for the proposed conference; audience reach of the proposed media outlet; gender balance; and geographic dispersion of the cohort.
To be eligible for the grant, applicants must meet the following conditions:
- Be a professional journalist from or representing an established media house and reporting from a low- or middle-income country. EJN will offer scholarships to journalists from the countries listed here. Women, Indigenous journalists, and early-career journalists are encouraged to apply.
- Have previous experience reporting on environmental issues and indicate the kinds of stories they might pursue while attending the conference.
- Commit to attending all days of the conference they are proposing to attend.
- Provide a letter of support from an editor or media outlet, committing to publish or broadcast any stories produced as a result of this scholarship. This is expected of both staffers and freelancers.
- Submit samples of their work, which can be uploaded as documents or web links. Stories can be in any language as long as they are accompanied by a short English synopsis. Story clips related to biodiversity issues are preferred.
- Agree to allow copies of stories produced from the conference to be re-published on the EJN website and distributed via social media, with due credit being given to the original media outlet.
The scholarship award is up to US$2,500 each. The amount may vary depending on whether international travel is needed for attendance at the conference. In general, applications with frugal requests will be viewed with more favour.
- Applications for conference scholarships will be accepted until 6th January 2023.
- Decisions will be communicated before the end of February.
- Journalists may produce stories in print, online, radio, or broadcast formats. Stories produced as a result of this scholarship can be in any language.
- Journalists’ editorial independence is respected and throughout the conference, journalists are free to report as they see fit.
- Republication rights: Those who are awarded grants are free to publish or broadcast stories produced as a result of the scholarship first in their affiliated media.
To apply, click here. The deadline for applications is 6 January 2023, 11:59 PM, (UTC -11).
