Journalists' Scholarships for the 1st Eastern Africa Agroecology Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, March

The Agroecology School for Journalists and Communicators is pleased to present travel grants for journalists to cover the 1st Eastern Africa Agroecology Conference. The Agroecology School for Journalists and Communicators is a product of Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF) Uganda. Learn more about ESAFF Uganda here: https://www.esaffuganda.org/

Please read about the 1st Eastern Africa Agroecology Conference here: https://ea-agroecologyconference.org

Overview: The purpose of this grant is to help journalists from all over East Africa cover the 1st Eastern Africa Agroecology Conference, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from March 21st to the 24th, 2023. The costs to be covered by the grant include registration fees, economy-class airfare, hotel, meals, travel insurance, visa fees, and mandatory COVID-19 testing.

Assessment criteria: The Agroecology School for Journalists and Communicators will consider the following: 1. Applicant's agroecology and agriculture reporting experience. 2. Conference reporting strategies (including a letter of support from the media outlet that will publish or broadcast reports from the conference). 3. The audience reach of the proposed media outlet. 4. Gender balance, and the geographical distribution across the cohort.

Requirements: The scholarship applicant must meet all of the following requirements: 1. You must be a professional agriculture journalist reporting from any east African country for an established media house. Early-career, women and indigenous journalists are especially encouraged to apply. 2. The journalists must have expertise in reporting on agroecology topics and explicitly describe what stories they would explore at the conference. 3. The journalist must commit to attending the full conference 4. Include a letter of support from an editor or media house (recommendation) promising to print or air scholarship-winning material. 5. Include a motivational letter detailing your interest in the conference and suggestions on learning areas and stories. 6. Submit work samples as documents or links. 7. Allow republishing and social media distribution of conference articles on the Agroecology School for Journalists and Communicators website. The original media outlet should be credited.

Assessment criteria: Travel financing and logistics: The Agroecology School for Journalists and Communicators will award scholarships up to $2,500 per person. The sum is subject to change depending on whether or not attendance at the conference requires travel from any east African country to Nairobi, Kenya.

Other conditions: Story production: Journalists can write in print, web, radio, and broadcast media in multiple languages. The grant will help applicants write stories in any language. We request that the story be translated into English for wider distribution.

Support: We respect journalists' editorial independence, and they can report anyway they like during the conference. However, we request the following tagline: "This report was developed with help of ESAFF Uganda through the Agroecology School for Journalists and Communicators."

Republication rights: Grantees can publish or broadcast scholarship-produced stories initially in their respective media outlets as long as the Agroecology School for Journalists and Communicators, its partners, and the grant donors have the right to edit, publish, broadcast, and distribute them. Scholarship recipients can publish or air their stories.

Travel requirements and SOPs: COVID-19 is causing foreign travel hazards and operational issues. You may need to show proof of vaccination, wear a mask, follow quarantine measures, or get COVID-19 tested before and during the conference. Scholarship-winning journalists must travel safely and complete all travel and attendance criteria. Given that some East African countries require visas to enter Kenya, it is the individual responsibility of the fellow to go through the steps necessary to obtain any necessary visas

Application: To apply for this grant, please go to https://agroecology-school.org/grants and click on "Apply Here". To register for the 1st Eastern Africa Agroecology Conference, please click https://eaac2023.exordo.com/login to create an account then later register to participate.

The application deadline is February 17, 2023 while successful candidates will be notified on March 3, 2023. Applications that are received after the deadline will not be taken into consideration. Please submit your work at least one day before the deadline to system avoid issues.

Please email study@agroecology-school.org for any grant queries or application issues. Learn more about the Agroecology School for Journalists and Communicators here: https://agroecology-school.org.