Democracy and qualitative (local) media are under pressure these days. On the one hand more and more global problems are pushed towards local governments and cities (e.g. migration, climate, employment, education, housing, mobility,...) and its citizens (e.g. socialisation in healthcare, emphasised individual environmental responsibilities, etc.). On the other hand reliable local information - necessary for making qualitative and informed decisions - is not available because in many cities in Europe (including Belgium and The Netherlands) there is a decrease of investigative journalism on the local level. As a result, democratic participation is undermined.
The aim of this project
With this project, Journalismfund aims at addressing the shortage of local independent journalism by awarding grants to local investigative journalistic projects in Belgium and the Netherlands and by stimulating the cross-border collaboration. In this way, cities in Belgium and the Netherlands could mutually strengthen each other (e.g. by forming each other’s benchmark) and as such increase the impact of the supported publications.
This project aims at strengthening local cross-border, independent and investigative journalism in order to increase the availability of qualitative local news, and at making citizens more aware of local - and often interrelated and global - issues and possible solutions. As such it aims to contribute to citizens’ critical thinking, well-informed debates/decisions and to foster civic engagement.
Funding
This Local Cross-Border Investigative Journalism Project is an initiative of Journalismfund Europe supported by the Flemish Government.
More information
All practical information (eligibility criteria, procedure, budget template, ...) can be find on our application website. Find stories supported by this grant programme here.
Read Journalismfund's general grant rules here.
Teams of investigative journalists (starters and seniors), with at least one journalist living in The Netherlands and one living in Belgium who have good ideas for a local cross-border investigation in that region. When relevant for the story, team members from elsewhere can be accepted, too.
For this round there's €100,000 available. The funds come from the Flemish Government (Department of Culture, Youth and Media).