Journalism Opportunity: Pacific Islands Climate Change Story Grants

Internews’ Earth Journalism Network is offering reporting grants to support the production of in-depth, previously untold climate change stories in the Pacific Islands.

Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Pacific

Pacific Island countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change and are already facing climatic stresses on the region’s food security, disaster response capacity, and water availability. In some cases, the conditions undermine the continued viability of human habitation in parts of the region. Communities living in regions with climate changes that undermine their livelihoods rarely have the opportunity to have their stories told in the media.
The Earth Journalism Network is looking to capture these stories and support journalists in opening up the information flow around climate change issues in the region.

Story Themes

We are looking for story proposals focused on issues related to climate change resilience, adaptation, and natural resource management in the Pacific Islands, including gender implications and perspectives on these issues.
We welcome all story ideas, but proposals that focus on new stories or angles that have not been widely covered are preferred. Issues that have already been widely covered or don’t provide unique angles on the topic are less likely to be selected.

Story Formats

EJN is offering grants ranging up to a maximum of 1000 USD, depending on the proposal and method of coverage, but it is of course advantageous to request smaller amounts. Applicants should provide a detailed budget using the template linked below with clear justification for the amount requested.
We expect that proposals will largely reflect the equipment that applicants already have access to, and we are less likely to approve budgets that heavily focus on obtaining new supplies.
Please download and use this budget form for your application

Expected Story Lengths:

• Investigative piece or long form narrative: 2,500 to 5,000 words (can be combined with video, photos, graphics, and/or maps)
• News article: 500 to 1,200 words
• Multimedia package: Video piece 2-6 minutes in length that can be accompanied by possible graphics, photos, text, maps

*NOTE: Proposals for long-form narratives and news articles should include plans for accompanying multimedia elements such as photos and video.

Who should apply?

Journalists (online, print, television) and other media practitioners with a track record of reporting on environmental issues are welcome to apply. We encourage freelancers and staff from all types of media outlets—both large and small—to submit applications.

How to apply

New EJN members must register for an EJN account here before applying. When you submit this registration form, you will receive an e-mail containing a link that directs you to set your password (if you don’t find the e-mail in your Inbox, please check your spam folder).
Once you have set a password, you can log in to your account to submit an application.
If you experience difficulty with the online application please contact cyi@internews.org for support. Please include a description of your issue.

The deadline for applications is May 27, 2016 at 17:00 EST.

More information

For background information on climate change reporting, please view these reporter resources:
Introduction to Climate Change
Adaptation to Climate Change
Climate Change: How to Report the Story of the Century

Publication of funded stories

It is a condition of the grant that Internews, USAID and the Pacific American Climate Fund can publish and distribute the funded stories. We encourage story writers and producers to publish or broadcast their stories in other media as long as Internews, USAID and the Pacific-American Climate Fund are also given rights to publish, broadcast and distribute them freely.
Funding for these stories is being provided by the Pacific-American Climate Fund and USAID as part of EJN's "Pacific GeoJournalism Project: Strengthening Environmental Journalism to Build Community Resilience to Climate Change." The project works to improve the quantity and quality of information on climate change impacts and resilience strategies available to communities, by enabling local media to produce fact-based, solutions-oriented coverage of climate change adaptation issues.

Apply Here.