CollaborAction Journalistic Research Scholarships 2024 (Latin America)

The ColaborAcción Scholarships are a recognition of the value that innovative journalistic proposals provide. A commitment by the Gabo Foundation and the Avina Foundation, which seeks to strengthen journalistic research on the environment, sustainability and science in Latin America.

By focusing on these issues, the fellowships seek not only to highlight the importance of in-depth reporting, but also to foster collaboration among journalists, encouraging both individual coverage and collective initiatives that address relevant issues and promote informed dialogue about the challenges and opportunities that Latin America faces in these areas.

Thematic Lines

• Thematic line 1: Democratic Innovation
  • In this line, proposals can be presented that have to do with the following subtopics:
    • Expansion of civic space: journalistic projects that feature new forms or processes of organization, participation or incidence in which civil society, and particularly traditionally excluded groups, managed to effectively influence decision-making on public affairs. Also research on key issues of civic space in the countries such as access to information, transparency in public procurement, fight against disinformation or protection of activists and human rights defenders.
    • Overcoming polarization: stories and research on collective political leadership, new forms of interaction and dialogue between civil society, companies and the State, processes of building agreements and convergence of interests in territories, etc.
    • Artificial intelligence at the service of human rights: this is a super topic that has many aspects: from the regulation of data use, privacy, intellectual property, etc. to the expansion of civic technologies using AI.
    • Security and human rights: acts and investigations on security cases and policies, militarism, punitivism and threats to democracy in the countries.
• Thematic line 2: Climate Action
  • Some suggested subtopics to frame the proposals are:
    • Latin America heading to COP30: what does a climate summit in the Amazon mean? How to prepare the Amazon to receive a COP? And the world to go to the Amazon to discuss climate?
    • Disruptive technologies for the energy transition: stories that tell about disruptions that are happening in the energy sector and that contribute to the transition to low-carbon economies.
    • Ancestral knowledge as a response to the climate crisis: stories of ancestral knowledge contributing to the adaptation of the impacts of climate change in health, food production, water resources management and other sectors.
    • Cities and climate action: how are Latin American cities responding to the climate crisis? What changes are happening in the economic activities and urban metabolism of Latin American cities to reduce emissions and/or adapt to climate change?
    • Water security: stories of solutions and actions that ensure access to water for human consumption in the context of water stress and climate change.
• Thematic line 3: Fair and Regenerative Economy
  • Transition economies and just transition: approaches to processes through which nations or territories evolve from one economic system to another, with the aim of adopting more sustainable and efficient practices. The just transition focuses on ensuring that this change does not generate disproportionate negative impacts on affected workers and communities, seeking social and environmental equity during the process.
  • Care economy: coverage focused on recognizing and valuing activities related to caring for people, whether in the domestic or professional sphere. It includes tasks such as caring for children, the elderly and the sick. This approach seeks to balance the distribution of care responsibilities between genders and promote policies that recognize the economic importance of these activities.
  • Food security: stories referring to the availability, accessibility and adequacy of food to meet the nutritional needs of the population. Find out how you can ensure that everyone has access to healthy, safe and sufficient food. Challenges include sustainable production, equitable distribution and prevention of malnutrition.
  • Regenerative Production: Coverage of agricultural and business methods that seek to restore and improve ecosystems, rather than simply minimize negative impacts. This includes sustainable agricultural practices that promote soil health, biodiversity and efficient resource management to create more resilient and environmentally beneficial production systems.
  • Artificial intelligence and the impact of new technologies on the world of work: how are artificial intelligence and other new technologies transforming the world of work? It includes the impact of automation on job creation and loss, the need for up-to-date skills, ethical issues related to AI, and how businesses and governments can adapt to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks associated with these emerging technologies.

How many and what types of scholarships does this call offer?

• Through this call, 6 journalistic production scholarships will be awarded, as follows:
  • 3 collaborative coverage scholarships, for 3000 US dollars each. These will be awarded to proposals that link media and/or journalists from at least 2 Latin American countries.
• Collaborative coverage scholarships will be assigned as follows:
  • 1 scholarship for a proposal related to the thematic line of democratic innovation.
  • 1 scholarship for a proposal related to the topic of climate action.
  • 1 scholarship for a proposal that has to do with the thematic line of fair and regenerative economy.
  • 3 individual coverage scholarships, worth 1000 US dollars each. These incentives will be intended for the development of investigations led by a journalist and referring to topics limited to a single country, region or city.
• Individual coverage scholarships will be assigned as follows:
  • 1 scholarship for a proposal related to the thematic line of democratic innovation.
  • 1 scholarship for a proposal related to the topic of climate action.
  • 1 scholarship for a proposal that addresses the thematic line of fair and regenerative economy.

What does the winner receive?

Each of the winning people or teams of this call will have access to the following:

• Depending on the category, an incentive of 1,000 or 3,000 US dollars (less bank fees) to subsidize the expenses required by the investigation, as well as fees for the person or journalistic team involved. The allocation of resources for the purchase of equipment is not supported.
• A personalized mentoring for 1 month (from April 15 to May 17, 2024) which will be provided by different experts from the Gabo Foundation network.

Who can participate?

• Independent journalists or journalists linked to media outlets in Latin America, preferably with experience in covering the topics covered by the call.
• Applicants must present the following:
  • A journalistic work proposal, which must include:
    • A description of the journalistic investigation proposal, of maximum 300 words, which must be framed in one of the 3 thematic lines described
    • A general budget that indicates what the scholarship resources will be used for. It is worth clarifying that the allocation of resources for the purchase of equipment is not supported.
    • A schedule that indicates the activities and deadlines in which the research will be carried out.
  • An autobiography (not a resume), of a maximum of 300 words, that describes your career in journalism and your interest in addressing the topic described in your proposal.
  • A letter of support from the media(s) in which the journalistic investigation produced from the scholarship is expected to be published.

For more information, visit Gabo Foundation.