“Earth Shorts” on Climate Resilience: Training and Grant Program 2024 for Social Media Content Producers in the Philippines

The EJN is launching the Training and Grant Program 2024 for Social Media Content Producers in the Philippines to enhance climate knowledge and resources, improve actionable climate information quality, and deepen public engagement with climate issues.

As part of this program, we will offer P108,000 each to 10 social media content producers in the Philippines, where EJN has existing programming, in-country staff and where there is a sizable group of social media content producers. Selected content producers will participate in a 4-day in-person training workshop on climate change and climate resilience and, with support from mentors, produce and disseminate four pieces of climate-related video content each on social media platforms.

Program objectives

The goal of this initiative is to raise public awareness and understanding about climate change-related information and motivate action by improving the quality and quantity of climate and environmental content disseminated on social media. It will be implemented as a proof of concept for EJN, with a view to scaling it up in the near future.

There are two intermediate objectives associated with the goal:

• Increase social media content producers’ knowledge of climate change and their access to credible climate-related data sources and thematic expertise.
• Strengthen the capacity and resources of social media content producers to create engaging climate change information in short-form video content format for social media.

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Benefits

• Workshop and online seminars: Selected participants will take part in a pre-workshop survey to assess their capacity, interests and needs, and then join a four-day in-person workshop in Manila and several online sessions. The final curriculum design will be tailored to the specific cohort, but topics that may be covered include localizing climate stories, potential climate resilience solutions at the policy and personal level, key concepts of climate change mitigation and adaptation, renewable energy and the just transition, an introduction to international climate treaties and frameworks, climate financing and carbon trade, fact-checking tips and tools, strategies to address mis/disinformation, platform accountability, and more.
• Content production and mentorship: Applicants will propose ideas for short-form videos and will have the opportunity to refine these ideas and their distribution plan with support from their assigned mentors/trainers. They will receive a grant of P108,000 each to produce and disseminate four climate-focused pieces of video content to their existing audiences on their platforms of choice. Content produced by the Fellows will also be shared on EJN’s website and social media channels. Fellows will be expected to monitor and report on their engagement and reach during the program.
• Sharing and feedback: Selected fellows will have the opportunity to share content, experiences, strategies and lessons with each other and with EJN staff as part of regular sharing sessions, both virtually and in-person. Participants may also be invited to offer feedback on this pilot and share tips on how to produce effective social media content with journalists in our network.

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Eligibility of Training and Grant Program

• They will accept applications from social media content producers who actively and frequently post short-form videos on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X or other leading social media platforms, relating to lifestyle, social issues, travel, science, economy, politics, and health. These social media content producers should not be currently reporting for any media outlets; former journalists are eligible. Prior content focused on environment and climate change is not a requirement, however, an interest in linking your work to climate issues is key.
• For the purposes of this grant opportunity, we will accept applications in English only. Applicants must either have a working understanding of English or have a translator available to assist with communication with Internews staff.
• EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, plagiarism and/or submitting AI-generated content as their own.

Selection Criteria for Training and Grant Program

Applicants should consider the following judging criteria when devising their pitches. Selection will be based on a good track record in producing video content, the number of followers (between 5,000 and 200,000), and existing thematic focus areas, as well as:

• Relevance: Does the pitch meet the criteria and objectives of the call? Is the main idea, context and overall value to the target audience clearly defined?
• Angle: Do your ideas for content bring new insights or offer a fresh angle on climate resilience in the Philippines?
• Impact: Does the pitch seem compelling? Is it likely to inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate and urge action?
• Innovative storytelling: The use of creative video editing approaches, narrative styles and/or data will be considered a plus.
• Availability: Selected social media content producers will need to take part in the pre- and post-workshop surveys, join all four days of the training workshop, attend all online seminars and sharing sessions, and commit to producing and disseminating four pieces of content by February 2025.

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