ICSC reopens climate and energy story grant for Filipino journalists

QUEZON CITY, October 8, 2024 – The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) is now accepting applications for the Jaime Espina Klima Correspondents Fellowship this 2024. ICSC is a Philippine-based non-government organization advocating fair climate policy and low carbon, climate-resilient development.

Now in its second round, this Fellowship was initially launched in 2022 to honor the late Jaime “Nonoy” Espina, a veteran journalist and former chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), who passed away in 2021.

Journalists and visual storytellers will be selected in the program that includes:

• • Five-month story grant: The program, which offers a story grant, aims to harness reporting on climate and energy stories in Philippine communities by training provincial journalists and media practitioners. It will run from November 2024 to March 2025.

• • In-person learning sessions: Accepted fellows must attend a three-day in-person session in Metro Manila from December 10-12, 2024. The learning sessions will tackle the country’s energy situation, renewable energy and its importance, and community-driven renewable energy applications. It will also cover topics such as journalism ethics focused on community engagement, and libel check. Fellows will also be offered workshops on photography and visual journalism, energy reporting, and data journalism, among others.

• • Consultations with resource persons: Fellows will have an opportunity to consult with media experts and ICSC representatives to refine their story proposals during the in-person learning session, with additional virtual consultations available throughout the program.
    Through these consultations, Fellows must also be able to revise their story proposals based on insights from the sessions, creating a comprehensive plan that includes story gathering, production, publication, updated timelines, and budgets. ICSC will review and approve the updated proposals.

• • Publication of output: Towards the end of the Fellowship, Fellows must ensure that their final outputs are published by ICSC and their respective media outlets. ICSC will compile all stories into a compendium, as done in the previous batch.The Fellowship will end with a culminating event to recognize the contributions of Fellows, organizers, and mentors.

Who is qualified to apply for the Fellowship?

​​This year, the Fellowship is open to Filipinos working as professional journalists, correspondents, and freelancers, with preference to those working in and from the provinces. Applicants must form a team composed of two members (one journalist and one visual storyteller).

What are the requirements?

Each team applying for the Fellowship must have the following:

• A letter of intent and commitment of the team to participate in the Fellowship;
• A letter of support from an affiliated media organization expressing commitment to publish the output of the team/fellows (signed by an editor); and
• Story proposal on climate and energy using the template provided by ICSC in the application form (Specific topics can cover efforts to accelerate the energy transition at various levels in the Philippines, renewable energy in humanitarian and community-driven initiatives, collaborations promoting renewable energy, and research and innovation in low-carbon development across various sectors).

Letters of intent and support must be addressed to:
Angelo Kairos dela Cruz
Executive Director
Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC)

To start the application process, applicants must accomplish and submit the above mentioned requirements in this application form.

Interested applicants must submit their application on or before Friday, November 1, 2024, at 11:59 pm (Manila time).

What is the application and selection process for the Fellowship?

Applications and story proposals will be screened by an esteemed panel of veteran journalists andeditors, as well as communications,climate, and energy experts.

A total of 10 proposals will be chosen after the selection process and will be notified of their acceptance to the program in November 2024.

What comes with the Fellowship grant? What is the expected output?

Each confirmed team will receive a grant of up to PHP100,000.00 to cover expenses for story gathering, editing, and production and to provide working stipend to journalists. They will work closely with ICSC to refine their story proposals.

Once the story proposals are approved, fellows must be able to produce and publish it in any of the following format:

• One (1) multi-part story series with at least five (5) curated photos;
• Three (3) short written articles with at least three (3) curated photos each;
• One (1) full video documentary with at least 15-minute running time; or
• Two (2) audiovisual stories of at least seven minutes for each output.

What is the timeline of the Fellowship?

The important and relevant dates for the fellowship are as follows:

This year’s Fellowship will be done in partnership with NUJP,  Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), and data consultancy firm Thibi.

In the previous batch, at least 14 journalists from 7 teams based in Luzon and Mindanao produced seven compelling stories on the energy transition and low-carbon development. These stories were published in the respective groups’ media publications and presented on ICSC’s website through “Klima Reports: A Compendium of Stories under the Jaime Espina Klima Correspondents Fellowship.”

For questions and clarifications about the 2024 Jaime Espina Klima Correspondents Fellowship, feel free to check the  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Fellowship webpage or  email us at klimafellowship@icsc.ngo. Follow us on Facebook for more important updates.

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