Simon Cumbers Media Fund – winter round is now open

Calling all interested media professionals. The winter round of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund is now open for applications. The Simon Cumbers Media Fund was established by Irish Aid to increase public understanding of global development issues and is in memory of Irish journalist Simon Cumbers (left), who was killed in Saudi Arabia in 2004, while working with the BBC. The aim of the Fund is to promote more and better quality coverage of development issues in the Irish media and, by extension, to promote a greater understanding of the work of Irish Aid, the Government’s programme for overseas development.
Media professionals and students are invited to submit proposals to cover a development issue, which would involve travel to a developing country. The Fund is open to all media disciplines and encourages proposals that promote positive impressions of developing countries across headlines such as health; education; environment; business and sport.
Projects that explore the issue of hunger and / or issues that are relevant to the Millennium Development Goals will be favoured, as will projects that focus on Irish Aid’s partner countries in Africa and Asia. The deadline for the receipt of applications is Friday, 15th October 2010.
Two regional workshops for media personnel interested in applying to the Simon Cumbers Media Fund will take place: the first in Dublin on 20th September at the Irish Aid Information and Volunteering Centre, Upper O’Connell Street and the second in Limerick on 24th September at Irish Aid, Riverstone House on Henry Street. Both workshops will run from 10.15am to 1pm.
Former successful applicants have gone on to travel and report on issues in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Previous Simon Cumbers Media Fund projects have also won and been shortlisted for a number of awards, including at the Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival, the New York Festival, the Western Development Commission John Healy Award and the One World Media Awards.