[ddj] Journalism Innovation Fund Offers $1m for African Projects

[Justin Arenstein]

Hi everyone,

I thought the list might be interested in this opportunity. There is $1m up 
for grabs, in grants ranging from $12,500 to $100,000 for cool tech ideas 
to help the media. Shout if anyone needs help connecting with local 
journalists or dev teams.

Happy hunting!

Cheers,
Justin

*For Immediate Release: May 09, 2012
Contact: Sonja Matanovic, Communications Director
Telephone: 202.349.7624


Call for Entries: $1 Million African News Innovation Challenge

Africa’s first major contest designed to promote the development of digital 
media products and innovations is now accepting applications.

African News Innovation Challenge <http://www.africannewschallenge.org/>(ANIC) will provide grants from $12,500 to 
$100,000 for the best projects aimed at strengthening and transforming 
African news media. The contest is modeled on the highly successful Knight 
News Challenge <http://newschallenge.tumblr.com/> in the United States. 
Grantees will also receive technical advice, startup support and one-on-one 
mentoring from the world’s top media experts.

Of particular interest are proposals that improve data-based investigative 
journalism, audience engagement, mobile news distribution, data 
visualization, new revenue models and workflow systems.

The African Media Initiative <http://www.africanmediainitiative.org/>(AMI), Africa’s largest association of media owners and operators, 
announced the contest last November as part of a pan-African initiative to 
spur digital experimentation and technology-driven projects and startups.

“African media have a tremendous opportunity to leapfrog the business 
disruption faced by media in Europe and the U.S.,” says AMI chief executive 
Amadou Mahtar Ba. “The growing reach of mobile networks and improving 
Internet access is beginning to reshape the media landscape in Africa. We 
believe this competition will help African news organizations stay ahead of 
the curve.”

Contest partners include Omidyar Network <http://www.omidyar.com/>, Google<http://www.google.com/>, 
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation <http://www.gatesfoundation.org/>, the John 
S. and James L. Knight Foundation <http://www.knightfoundation.org/>, the U.S. 
State Department <http://www.state.gov/>, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS)<http://www.kas.de/wf/en/>and the World 
Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)<http://www.wan-ifra.org/>
.

“Omidyar Network is delighted to be supporting the African News Innovation 
Challenge,” said Stephen King, partner at Omidyar Network.  “Across the 
continent we are seeing innovative ways in which technology is providing 
people with greater access to information. This challenge is a great 
opportunity for journalists, entrepreneurs and technologists to join forces 
and help enable the African media to hold their leaders to account.”

Digital strategist Justin Arenstein<http://www.icfj.org/about/profiles/justin-arenstein>is managing the initiative as part of his work with AMI and the International 
Center for Journalists <http://www.icfj.org/> in Washington, D.C.

HOW TO APPLY:

Entries must be submitted to the ANIC website<http://www.africannewschallenge.org/>by midnight (Central African Time) on July 10, 2012.

WHO CAN APPLY:

Proposals may be submitted by news pioneers from anywhere in the world, but 
entries must have an African media partner who will help develop and test 
the innovation. Projects that are designed for Africa will stand a better 
chance of receiving support.
PROJECTS OF GREATEST INTEREST:

ANIC is seeking new ways to create, discuss and share news and make quality 
journalism sustainable. This could include new revenue or production 
models, new ways to gather, produce or distribute news. Ideas that can be 
scaled up across the continent or replicated elsewhere are of particular 
interest. Preference will be given to ideas that solve bottlenecks facing 
Africa’s media.

THE JUDGING PROCESS 

Winning projects will be selected by an ANIC panel of judges, following 
public voting and a review by an international jury.

About ICFJ
The International Center for Journalists is a non-profit organization that 
advances quality journalism worldwide. Its programs combine the best 
professional standards with the latest digital innovations. ICFJ believes 
that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human 
condition.

About AMI
The African Media Initiative is the continent’s largest umbrella 
association of African media owners, senior executives and other industry 
stakeholders. AMI’s mandate is to serve as a catalyst for strengthening 
African media by building the tools, knowledge resources and technical 
capacity for African media to play an effective public interest role in 
their societies. This mandate includes assisting with the development of 
professional standards, financial sustainability, technological 
adaptability and civic engagement. 
 
About Google Inc.
Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around 
the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. 
students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top Web property in 
all major global markets. Google's mission in Africa is to make the 
Internet an integral part of every day life in Africa, by increasing its 
relevance and usefulness, eliminating access barriers for potential users, 
and developing products that are meaningful for countries in the region. 
Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the 
Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. For more information, visit 
http://www.google.com/africa, see our Africa Blog, 
http://google-africa.blogspot.com/ or follow us on Twitter 
twitter.com/googleafrica

About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing 
the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their 
lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, 
the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to 
catalyze economic and social change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed 
more than $500 million to for-profit companies and non-profit organizations 
that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation 
across multiple investment areas, including financial inclusion, 
entrepreneurship, property rights, consumer Internet, mobile and government 
transparency. To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com.

>>END<<*
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