Seed Grants for Media Outlets to cover Natural Resource Management and Green Growth in Nepal

Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is offering five seed grants and mentorship to selected media outlets in Nepal. This round of grants is awarded as part of the Media for Inclusive Green Growth (MIGG) in Nepal project and EJN’s Asia-Pacific project, with funding from the European Union and Sida respectively.

Project Themes and Objectives

• The objective of these grants is to increase the capacity of the media in Nepal to provide innovative and solutions-oriented information on green growth and natural resource management to the public and policymakers. The grants are intended to seed new programs, columns or sections that focus on these issues. Over the grant period, they expect that selected media outlets will each design and pilot a new program, producing at least two stories or episodes as proof of concept.
• They are seeking media programming ideas that provide information on:
  • The impacts of poor governance and inefficient budgetary disbursement on natural resources, identifying corrupt practices that hinder the country’s green growth;
  • The impacts of hydropower projects on riverine ecosystems and freshwater biodiversity, infrastructure development on mountain ecosystems, etc.;
  • Government strategies, policies and potentially scalable solutions to manage Nepal’s natural resources more effectively;
  • Efforts of Indigenous and local communities that enhance green growth and support climate resilience.
• They are particularly keen to support media products that amplify the voices and perspectives of marginalized and minority communities, create space for constructive dialogues and better inform communities, which in turn intensifies public pressure on policymakers to act.

Funding Information

• They anticipate supporting 5 organizations with grants of 4,500 euros each.

Eligibility Criteria

• Media outlets in Nepal – including newspapers, online media, radio, television, multimedia platforms, and social media channels – are welcome to apply. Applications must propose one new media programming idea on the themes noted above and include the production of at least two episodes or stories. Applications proposing more than one idea will not be accepted.
• For the purposes of this funding opportunity, they will only be accepting applications in English and Nepali. Unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time. Applicants must either have a working understanding of English or Nepali or have a translator available to assist with communication with Internews staff. However, applicants may produce stories in any language.
• Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of generative AI tools, if any, in the development of their proposals. EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, plagiarism and submitting AI-generated content as their own.

For more information, visit EJN.