Deadline for Submission: March 7, 2022
Eligible countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Nepal, India, Botswana, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Congo, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, and USA.
Cultural Survival’s Community Media Program announces its sixth call for proposals for Indigenous community radio and media projects. The Indigenous Community Media Fund supports community radio and other media platforms run by Indigenous Peoples as tools to strengthen their broadcast infrastructure and systems, and provide training opportunities in journalism, broadcasting, audio editing, technical skills, and more to Indigenous community radio journalists and media producers around the world.
The purpose of the Indigenous Community Media Fund is to strengthen the impact and influence of Indigenous radio through improvements in radio station infrastructure, internal organization, programming, political and community advocacy, new and better production capacities, as well as systematization of successful management experiences. The Fund supports stations in means of revitalizing Indigenous cultures, identities, languages, histories, worldviews, and promoting Indigenous rights, the protection of ancestral territories and natural resources, as well as in elevating the leadership of women and youth communicators.
Proposal Requirements
Proposals can be submitted in writing (2 pages max), via audio (3-5 min) or video (3-5 min) in the following languages:
Spanish, English, Russian, Nepalese, Sunuwar, Hindi, Buryat, Maya K'iche', Kaqchikel, Poqomam, Mam, Didxazá (Zapotec of the Isthmus), Ayuujk, Afrikaans, French.
Cultural Survival is interested in, but not limited to, the following types of communication projects:
- Legal processes to access radio frequencies for Indigenous community stations (Applies to Mexico, Kenya, and Namibia only).
- Institutional development for community radio stations including: strategic planning, radio sustainability (financial, organization, contents and legal areas), development of a board of directors, development of environmental policies, gender policies, design and implementation of personnel security protocols, monitoring and evaluation.
- Capacity building and technical skills in radio recording, editing, production, community investigative journalism, coverage in emergency situations, maintenance, repair and assembly of radio equipment, and the management of an Indigenous community radio station.
- Development of radio content on topics related to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), decolonized histories of Indigenous Peoples, strengthening of Indigenous identities, protection of lands, territories and natural resources, climate change, news development, rights of Indigenous women and issues on gender, cultural and ancestral heritage, national legislation impacting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, public debates, literacy in mother tongues and Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
- Community organization related to the rights of Indigenous Peoples, focusing on radio as the main means of engaging with the community.
- Capacity building in new communication technologies (Streaming, servers, links, web pages, online radios, digital press, community TV).
- Intranet networks or broadband installation in stations.
The projects will be selected based on their community support, creativity, self-sustainability, vision, and work in relation to Indigenous rights and cultures. Projects will be completed in 6-10 months and must demonstrate how the project will impact and change the radio station and / or community, positively. Preference will be given to community radio stations that broadcast in Indigenous languages and have the participation of various sectors, especially the participation of Indigenous women.
In 2022, a limited number of proposals from radios and other media ecosystems such as print, television, audiovisual production, and community internet will be accepted as long as they are managed by Indigenous People and have community support.
Who can participate?
- Indigenous community radio stations
- Network of Indigenous Communicators or group of women communicators
- Media managed by Indigenous peoples and leadership of Indigenous women.
How to apply?
The first phase of this call for proposals includes submitting a letter, audio or video recording that details the project proposal. The written proposal must be two pages long and the audio or video recording must be three to five minutes. If the proposal is chosen, the radio or radio network will be invited to develop a full proposal in Spanish or English (only in these two languages). Please note that an invitation to submit a full proposal is not a guarantee for receiving a grant.
The proposal, (either an audio recording (3-5 min), video (3-5 min) or a written document (2 pages) must include:
- Name of the project, name of the radio station and a brief history of its origin. Add links to websites or Facebook pages related to your radio / organization if available.
- The Indigenous Peoples / community/ nation for which the radio serves, type of population, percentage of the population that benefits from the radio station.
- What are the needs of the radio station and/or the community?
- What is the proposed project that addresses those needs?
- A brief description of proposed activities.
- What are some outcomes that this project proposes to achieve?
- Amount requested ($ 6,000.00 USD maximum). Prepare your budget in local currency and in US dollars, with a maximum of 30% of total budget to support the purchasing of new equipment.
Indigenous radio network applications that represent more than three radio stations can submit a budget up to $12,000.
For more information or to send your written, audio, or video proposal, contact: radio@cs.org.
Deadline for Submission: March 7, 2022
