Meydan TV and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) are calling for applications for the “Youth Voice” program. This call is for journalists, writers, bloggers and content creators from Azerbaijan who want to produce thematic media pieces on civic, social, cultural and political issues currently happening in the country. The pieces should be written from the perspective of young people. The program provides young creators with the opportunity to gain international exposure as well as benefit from professional mentorship.
The applicants will be asked to fill in the application form and pitch their idea for the media piece.
Preliminary, potential topics include, but are not limited to the following:
- Environmental justice
- Poverty and other social issues
- Right to education
- Cultural rights
- People with special needs
- Housing and property rights
- Freedom of Religion and Beliefs
- Privatisation of public spaces
- Gender equality
- LGBTQ+ rights
- Corruption and other political issues
- Freedom of expression
The program will feature a total of 18 original media pieces produced on a monthly basis in Azerbaijani and English. The final selection of authors strives to include maximum diversity of opinions, ensure gender balance and allow for genre diversity (articles, video stories, multimedia pieces, caricature and satire, etc.). Participants are welcome to publish pieces under their own name or/and a pen name.
Meydan TV editors will mentor the participants through the research, production and editing processes. The resulting media pieces will be published as part of a new multimedia rubric at Meydan TV and on IPHR’s blog. The program will allow emerging journalists to kickstart their work in a safe way with mentorship from a leading media outlet in the country. At the same time, the program will further inform the general public about relevant human rights issues through diverse, innovative and appealing formats. At the end of the program, the author of the best piece will receive an award. The winner will be determined through a transparent assessment done jointly by Meydan TV, IPHR and invited experts.
The deadline for applications is 7 March 2021.