NOFO: Legal Support, Ethics and Management for Media Professionals (Kazakhstan)

Project Goal

• Strengthen press freedom and independence in Kazakhstan by providing access to legal support services and training programs to media and legal professionals.

Project Objectives

• The program should support objective journalism and ethical journalism standards through the provision of timely, exhaustive, and comprehensive legal consultations to journalists, content creators, law students and practitioners, and media consultants.
• The program should be able to provide pro-bono legal support in cases when a journalist or a media outlet, requesting such support, were fulfilling their professional duties in accordance with international journalism standards and ethics, as well as the laws and regulations of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• The program must include media rights and responsibilities trainings for journalists and content creators, law students and practitioners, and for law enforcement agencies.
• Proposals should outline strategies and activities aimed at empowering media entities to build strong and sustainable management practices. This may include initiatives focused on financial generation management, strategic planning, and resilience-building measures to navigate economic challenges and enhance the overall managerial competence of independent media organizations.
• The DREAM Initiative encompasses three key lines of effort to fortify independent media in Kazakhstan: Legal Support, Ethics and Management Training, and Media Transparency. These objectives align with the overarching goal of fostering objective journalism and ethical standards. Project proposals may address one or more of these objectives, or other objectives within the above policy priorities.
  • Objective 1: Improve knowledge and awareness of legal rights and media laws among a minimum of 100 participants through a series of six training sessions. (Ensure at least half of the training sessions are conducted in Kazakh). Topics may include: media laws, ethical journalism standards and management practices, journalist legal protections and emerging legal challenges.
  • Objective 2: Advocate for enforcement of legislation that uphold international journalism standards and legal protections by providing media professionals access to timely legal support and consultation services.
  • Objective 3:  Improve the ability of independent media organizations, including media executives, editors, and journalists to implement effective management practices through capacity building training focused on organizational management, strategic planning, developing diversified revenue streams, and ethical journalism practices.

Funding Information

• Total available funding: $150,000
• Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $150,000
• Length of performance period: 6 to 12 months
• Number of awards anticipated: 1-2 awards
• Anticipated program start date:  October 1, 2024

Project Audience(s)

• The project should target journalists, media professionals, media content makers, law students and practitioners, and law enforcement agents throughout the country. The project should be able to provide services in Kazakh and Russian.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are eligible to apply:
  • Not-for-profit organizations
  • For-profit organizations
  • Civil society/non-governmental organizations
  • Think tanks
  • Public and private educational institutions
• Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

Ineligible

• This opportunity will not support:
  • Projects relating to partisan political activity;
  • Charitable or development activities;
  • Construction projects;
  • Projects that support specific religious activities;
  • Fund-raising campaigns.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.