Call for applications: UNDP COVID-19 grant in Kenya

The grant is part of the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP's) Accelerator Lab response and fight against misinformation in the country, with an emphasis on reaching across ethnic and minority divides.

With this grant, the UNDP hopes to:

• Amplify COVID-19 messaging and support the Kenyan government’s pandemic response.
• Support livelihood opportunities for youth, women and people living with disabilities in the creative sector in Kenya.
• Increase social cohesion in the community by addressing issues of stigma, biases and harassment arising from the pandemic.
• Increase awareness of the role of the creative sector in responding to a crisis.

The selected organisations will be expected to interpret, contextualise and personalise key COVID-19 messages based on the following themes:

• Public Health – The content should emphasise public health efforts such as physical hygiene and physical distancing as well as addressing the mental health impacts arising from the pandemic.
• Medical Care – The content should destigmatise COVID-19 testing and quarantine and amplify healthcare resources available to the public, including mental health.
• Social Cohesion – The content should address labels and negative stereotypes of people affected by COVID-19, avoid victim blaming and emphasise empathy and support to people affected by COVID-19.
• The New Normal – The content should encourage personal responsibility once movement restrictions and other measures begin to ease.

The UNDP will accept applications in the following categories:

• Audio content (music, poetry, spoken word, etc.)
• Audio-visual content (short live-action film or animation, etc.)
• Visual content (posters, comic strip, artwork, etc.)

NOTE:

• People living with disability, women and youth in rural areas are highly encouraged to apply.
• All submissions must be original, and the creators must own all rights to use all elements included in the work submitted.
• Applicants are encouraged to bring their unique perspective and creative a twist in their interpretation of any of the key themes highlighted above.
• The content should meet the quality and standards necessary for ease of distribution on digital and print mediums.

Requirements

The organisations applying should:

• Be a registered youth group.
• Be in existence for the last two years.
• Have demonstrated experience of engagements and activities at a community level such as communication or awareness campaigns on social issues.
• Be committed to developing creative content if their approach is selected.

Prizes

The grant is worth $15 000 and three applicants in each category will be awarded:

• Winner – $2 500
• First runner-up – $1500
• Second Runner-up – $1 000

How to apply

Interested organisations can submit their project concept and budget at [email protected].

The application deadline is 21 August (3pm East African Time).

For more guidelines, download the original call (attached below).