NIO-PAS Grants: Enhancing Media Literacy in North India

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy’s North India Office (NIO-PAS) seeks proposals for a project entitled “North India Workshops on Media Challenges in the Digital Age” for students, between the ages 20-35, pursuing a post-graduate diploma/degree course in journalism/mass communication and civil society representatives.  Based on funding availability, this project will equip a minimum of 75 participants with tools to validate news sources and thereby create a credible counter to disinformation via three two-day workshops in New Delhi; Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; and Jaipur, Rajasthan.  The grantee may partner with a local organization or academic institution to conduct these workshops. 

The workshops will focus on:

• Identifying disinformation and false narratives;

• Tools available to validate news sources;

• Best practices to counter disinformation; and

• Strengthening community ties and developing mentorship opportunities amongst program participants.

 Each workshop should be held for two days with a minimum of three sessions each day, and designed for a minimum of 25 participants.  The participant group should be gender-balanced and equally divided between post-graduate journalism students and civil society representatives, ages 20-35 from the above-mentioned North Indian states.  Participants from civil society should be existing influencers with the capacity to have a multiplier effect on communities. The grantee may also reach out to and invite participants who are U.S. government-sponsored exchange program alumni and alumni from other U.S. government-funded grants/programs.  Each workshop should incorporate at least one U.S. expert and one local expert as in-person trainers. 

To sustain networks and skills developed during the program, a virtual mentorship phase will follow the three workshops including a post-workshop assignment and one follow-up virtual group session for each workshop cohort, utilizing the U.S. expert(s) as mentor(s).  

(Please refer to the full announcement available under related documents tab.) 

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy’s North India Office (NIO-PAS) seeks proposals for a project entitled “North India Workshops on Media Challenges in the Digital Age” for students, between the ages 20-35, pursuing a post-graduate diploma/degree course in journalism/mass communication and civil society representatives.  Based on funding availability, this project will equip a minimum of 75 participants with tools to validate news sources and thereby create a credible counter to disinformation via three two-day workshops in New Delhi; Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; and Jaipur, Rajasthan.  The grantee may partner with a local organization or academic institution to conduct these workshops. 

The workshops will focus on:

• Identifying disinformation and false narratives;

• Tools available to validate news sources;

• Best practices to counter disinformation; and

• Strengthening community ties and developing mentorship opportunities amongst program participants.

 Each workshop should be held for two days with a minimum of three sessions each day, and designed for a minimum of 25 participants.  The participant group should be gender-balanced and equally divided between post-graduate journalism students and civil society representatives, ages 20-35 from the above-mentioned North Indian states.  Participants from civil society should be existing influencers with the capacity to have a multiplier effect on communities. The grantee may also reach out to and invite participants who are U.S. government-sponsored exchange program alumni and alumni from other U.S. government-funded grants/programs.  Each workshop should incorporate at least one U.S. expert and one local expert as in-person trainers. 

To sustain networks and skills developed during the program, a virtual mentorship phase will follow the three workshops including a post-workshop assignment and one follow-up virtual group session for each workshop cohort, utilizing the U.S. expert(s) as mentor(s).  

(Please refer to the full announcement available under related documents tab.)