EJN Story Grants to Strengthen Coverage of Environmental Crimes & Sustainable Solutions in the Amazon 2025

Deadline: January 9, 2025

Applications are open for the EJN Story Grants to Strengthen Coverage of Environmental Crimes and Sustainable Solutions in the Amazon 2025. Internews’ EJN is providing story grants to journalists to produce tales on transnational conservation crimes in the Amazon Region and the threats confronted by Indigenous peoples and native communities in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

They welcome story concepts that take a regional perspective on the threats to biodiversity in the Amazon area and deal with the transnational nature of actions akin to unlawful logging, unsustainable and unregulated fishing, wildlife trafficking, and unlawful mining, in addition to the relationship between these actions and their influence on Amazonian ecosystems and the communities that inhabit the area.

They additionally welcome solutions-oriented tales highlighting efforts to fight environmental crimes, led by Indigenous peoples and native communities, civil society organizations, the non-public sector or public policymakers. These actions embody, for instance, sustainable forest administration practices, monitoring and monitoring wildlife trafficking, and efforts to curb illegality throughout the worth chain, akin to certification, amongst others.

grant

• They anticipate to award up to 40 grants of round USD $1,500 to USD $2,000. They anticipate that proposals requesting quantities nearer to the higher restrict of the finances, USD $2,000, will embody broader regional protection, collaboration between journalists and/or throughout borders, and/or be produced in partnership with two or extra media shops or organizations and/or involvethe publication of a couple of story or variations of the story in completely different codecs.

Eligibility

• Applicants could be primarily based in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; candidates residing in the Amazon area of these international locations are most well-liked. Journalists who obtained assist in earlier grant rounds of this venture are eligible to apply.
• Groups of journalists are eligible. However, the utility should be made in the identify of one lead applicant. If awarded, the lead applicant is answerable for speaking with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf. The lead applicant can even be answerable for collaborating in mentoring periods, trainings and workshops as half of the strengthening course of. 
• Candidates who purpose to produce a couple of story on the proposed matter or who intend to publish the story in a couple of format might be given precedence amongst the functions.
• For the functions of this grant OPPORTUNITY, they are going to be accepting functions in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
• Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (on-line, print, tv, radio) and different knowledgeable media practitioners with skilled reporting expertise. They welcome functions from early-career journalists and skilled reporters with a observe report of overlaying atmosphere conservation subjects in the Amazon area. They encourage functions from freelance reporters and workers from all kinds of media organizations – worldwide, nationwide, native, and community-based. 
• Applicants are required to be clear about the use of generative AI instruments, if any, to revise their proposals. EJN reserves the proper to disqualify candidates from consideration if they’ve been discovered to have engaged in unethical or improper skilled conduct, together with, however not restricted to, submitting AI-generated content material as their very own.

Judging Criteria

Applicants ought to contemplate the following factors when devising their story proposals. 

• Relevance: Does the proposal meet the standards and targets of the name? Why does this story matter, and to whom? Are the foremost thought, context, and general worth to the audience clearly outlined? 
• Angle: If the story has been coated, does your proposal deliver new insights to the matter or provide a recent angle? 
• Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative or investigative component that can inform and interact, draw consideration, set off debate, and spur motion? 
• Innovative storytelling: Using artistic approaches, multimedia, and knowledge visualization might be thought of a plus. 
• Plan for well timed publication: Reporters, whether or not freelance or employed at a media outlet, will want to embody a letter of assist from an editor in their utility, committing to publish the tales by the finish of August 2025. 

Application

Click here to apply

For extra info, go to EJN Story Grants.