Story Grants to Report on Great Apes and One Health in Africa

They aim to support the production of stories that raise awareness about great apes and One Health and drive conversation among communities and policymakers at the local, national, and regional level. Proposals that focus on topics or stories that have not been widely covered are preferred. Issues that have already received a lot of media coverage or don’t provide unique angles are less likely to be selected.

They are particularly interested in stories with a cross-border element, including groups of journalists seeking to investigate the uniquely challenging threats to ape populations that live in multiple countries or conservation initiatives that require regional cooperation.

As part of EJN’s new project, Empowering Media for the Conservation of Great Apes in Africa, they will award up to 8 story grants to journalists in African range countries seeking to report on the threats faced by great apes (in the wild and in captivity), and the conservation solutions that must be scaled to safeguard animal, human and environmental health in the years to come.

Themes

• They welcome story ideas that focus on the following themes, including, but not limited to:
  • The diseases threatening both wild and captive apes, with particular focus on how tourism, industrial development, natural disasters, trafficking, trade and research activity impact ape health;
  • Zoonotic spillover and One Health at the human-ape interface, i.e. stories that connect the dots between human health, animal health and environmental health;
  • Participatory and science-based conservation efforts and other tried-and-tested solutions to safeguard great ape health and welfare;
  • Ethical interventions to monitor and manage ape health in areas where humans and great apes successfully coexist;
  • National and international laws, policies and treaties related to great ape conservation—and the challenges in implementing them;
  • The role of protected areas, national parks and other reserves in mitigating risks to ape wellbeing, preserving ecosystems and supporting human health;
  • How Indigenous and traditional knowledge is or is not incorporated into management plans and how communities are consulted about conservation initiatives that may affect their livelihoods and cultural traditions;
  • The balance between the need for resources to support a clean energy transition and the impact of extractive industries such as mining on ape habitats.

Benefits

• The grant can fund travel costs, reporter stipends, multimedia elements and more. Besides funding, grantees will receive 1-1 editorial mentorship from an experienced journalist and training on how to repackage their reporting for social media to reach a wider audience.

Funding Information

• They expect to award up to 8 grants with budgets of up to US$1,500 each.

Eligible Countries

• Applicants can be from range countries in Africa; i.e. countries where the great apes live in their natural habitats: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Eligibility Criteria

• Groups of journalists are encouraged to apply. However, the application must be made in the name of one lead applicant. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded.
• They will only be accepting applications in English and French. Unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time.
• Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other media practitioners with experience covering conservation and/or One Health issues.
• They welcome applications from early-career journalists and experienced reporters with a track record of covering conservation and One Health issues. Applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—international, national, local and community-based are eligible. They especially encourage women, rural and/or Indigenous and early-career journalists to apply.
• They welcome applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—community-based, local national and international.
• Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of generative AI tools, if any, to revise their proposals. 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, submitting AI-generated content as their own.

Judging Criteria

• Applicants should consider the following points when devising their story proposals:
  • Geographical and species diversity: They will select a cohort that is representative of as many range countries and great ape species as possible.
  • Relevance: Does the proposal meet the criteria and objectives of the call? Why does this story matter and to whom? Is the main idea, context and overall value to the target audience clearly defined?
  • Angle: If the story has been covered, does your proposal bring new insights to the topic or offer a fresh angle?
  • Reach: Does the proposed media outlet have a wide reach? Journalists publishing their work at outlets that typically restrict content behind paywalls are encouraged to secure commitments to publish from additional outlets, or request an exception to ensure their EJN-supported story remains accessible to audiences.
  • Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative or investigative element that will inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate and spur action?
  • Innovative storytelling: The use of creative approaches, multimedia and data visualization will be considered a plus.
  • Representation of great apes in anticipated coverage: They will consider whether journalists’ proposals to report on great apes adhere to the IUCN’s Best Practice Guidelines for Responsible Images of Nonhuman Primates and uphold media ethics in this area.
  • Plan for timely publication: Reporters, whether freelance or employed at a media outlet, will need to include a letter of support from an editor in their application, committing to publish the stories by October 31, 2025.

For more information, visit Earth Journalism Network.