Announcing the New 2013 Rising Voices Microgrant Competition
UPDATE: The microgrant competition has ended – you can learn more about this year's grantees HERE.
Do you have an idea for a project that would help your local community use citizen media to tell their own story? Do you need funding and support in making that idea become a reality?
Since 2007, Rising Voices has sought to support individuals, grassroots groups, networks, and organizations committed to helping their local communities participate more fully in the digital online space. By providing funding and mentoring to small-scale projects around the world, Rising Voices has supported 35 citizen media outreach projects located in all corners of the globe. These projects have helped local leaders bring new and underrepresented voices into the global digital conversation in order to tell their own stories or bring to light issues important to their own communities.
NEW PLATFORM
Beginning with the 2013 round of microgrant funding, Rising Voices has developed a new platform where applicants can publicly share their ideas with the broader community. This open process can enable greater opportunities to seek feedback and to help facilitate connections between groups located in the same geographic area or working around the same issue. We feel that this new way of sharing ideas will have a positive effect on the global community that shares the common goal of a more inclusive and diverse digital online space.
Once again, we will provide up to five microgrants in the amount of $USD 2,500-4,000 to successful applicants that have demonstrated a strong and clear idea how to best provide training and ongoing support to their local community members. Selected grantee projects will join the Rising Voices community of projects and be featured prominently across the Global Voices network.
GUIDELINES
Rising Voices seeks project proposals that share our mission of bringing voices from new communities, as well as underrepresented language groups to the online global conversation through the use of participatory citizen media. The project's primary activities should be to provide citizen media training workshops to the target community, as well vital ongoing support and mentoring. Please see our roster of current and alumni grantee projects for examples of previously funded projects.
Examples of potential projects may include:
- Organizing a citizen media “boot camp” with experienced local bloggers to train and mentor participants from underrepresented communities that will result in a local network of support.
- Working with an indigenous community to teach and encourage new generations to begin to use Twitter to connect with others as a way to preserve and promote their native language online.
- Partnering with a local library with a computer lab to invite community members to discuss local problems and solutions, and train them how to create a group blog to take these conversations to the wider community.
- Organizing a series of digital photography group walks where residents can document life in their community together and create an online Flickr photography exhibit.
- Teaching local residents to record and edit audio recordings on Audacity for a community podcast that can be uploaded online, as well as distributed to local radio stations for a wider reach.
Project ideas are not limited to these, and we encourage you to be creative, yet realistic in your proposals. See the Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.
To apply, please visit the “Submit a Proposal” page, where you will find short questions that will enable you to outline your project plans. Please note that there is a character-limit for each answer (not word-limit).
APPLICATION PROCESS
The competition will follow the following timeline process:
First Round – Applicants submit their initial proposal via the online platform. Once the proposal has been published, we invite applicants to share their proposal with their networks, as a way to solicit comments and input from others. Please note that there is an option for applicants to keep their proposal private if there are security concerns.
All of the proposals will be reviewed by a committee comprised of members from the Global Voices community, including past microgrant recipients.
Application deadline is
Friday, March 1, 2013 at 23:59Monday, March 4 at 23:59 GMTSecond Round – The selection committee will choose a shortlist of finalists, who will then be invited to submit a longer and more detailed proposal including budget, timeline, and additional detailed information. These finalists will also have the option to submit additional multi-media, such as a user-created video or photographs to help the committee make a final decision.
Winners will be announced by March 31 (subject to change based on the number of proposals to be reviewed).
Please feel free to ask questions by leaving a comment or by sending an email through the Contact Form.
Good luck!
31 comments
Notre territoire est situé à la frontière entre la RD Congo et le Barundi, ici un conflit ouvert oppose les Bafulero au Barundi les Bambembe aux Banyamulenge. Nous voudrions lancer une journée culturelle folklorique seront inviter les quatre groupes tribaaux pour venir s’emouvoir, chanter et danser. Les télévisons locales, les radios et les différentes autorités locales, notabilités coutumières et mutualités des différentes tributs présentes dans la sité d’Uvira seront invité. Notre slogan est “VIVONS LA COMMUNIONS” Ceci sera une action qui permettra à tous les groupes en dissention à pouvoir s’exprimer et cela sera suivi par des messages de consolidation de la paix par chaque groupe
I wish to request that you consider those areas that have had no opportunities to see what a computer looks like. Nambi Sseppuuya Community Resource Center in Uganda is seeking to demystify the computer to a disadvantaged poor rural community by first giving both young and old members of the community some basic training in the use of computer before they can go to such things as “use of twitter” or creation of group blog. KINDLY ASSIST US!
Justin N. Kiyimba
http://www.namsepctr.org OR http://www.nambicommunityresourcecentre.com
Muy interesante la convocatoria de microbecas Rising Voices, saludos desde la provincia de EL ORO-ECUADOR
This is a great initiate that will make the voices of those “left behind”, heard.
It amazing that not only the lower income women or non educated women suffer at the hands of their husbands, but even those highly educated, financially well up and those with high social status are still experiencing worst physical violence and threats. Yes i would believe that many fear of loosing the homes and the income and why are those with everything, she has a big modern house, a car and desent salary still allow to be abused by man. In most cases the man is of low status and less educated and depended on this lady to provide for him but still abuse her, we have seen women who buy cars and give to their boyfriends and end up devorced or the making an accident while carrying another girlfriend, a man stays with his wife in her home and still bit her up.
I plead for communication lessons in families and partners to be part of topical issues to address
Thanks.
Our organization, Social Awareness and Development Organization (SADO) working in the most backward and the most marginalized community of Pakistan situated on Afghan border. We are interested to work with you as partner organization. The people where we are working need to express their view through media and other relevant quarters.
We need to know can we apply for your grant from Pakistan?
We shall be very thankful if you please reply us on time as there are very limited time to apply.
Best Regards,
Umar Zada
Social Awareness and Development Organization (SADO)
Main office SADO, Officer’s colony near Dir Scouts Timargara, Dir Lower, KPK, Pakistan
Contact: 0092-945-825128, Cell: 0092-301-8521842 Web: http://www.sado.org.pk Email: info@sado.org.pk
Sir,
The Hill People’s Development Council (HPDC) is a Local based non-Governmental organisation working for the welfare of the hilly tribal people living hand to mouth in all development programmes. We did not get any financial assistance till to day from the donors or govt. We have facing grate hardship in our projects. I, therefore, humbly request the Rising Voices give some opportunity for financial grants in the interest of the poorest tribal people.
Yours faithfully
Mangcha Haokip
Secretary, HPDC Email:hpdc@rediffmail.com
Hello friends,
Hope the grant will make the people around the village particularly those who have never heard things like those.Like me I am from the village where the people do not know even the twitter or facebook is.
So this will open the mind to share things with their fellow in the world by presenting their matters in their languages then be shared around the world in another language.
Rising Voices is good forum as well as program of bringing voices from new communities, as well as underrepresented language groups to the online global conversation through the use of participatory citizen media. This might be very helpful bringing the marginalized people of different communities in mainstreaming.