[bestbits] Fwd: FW: Call for Submissions for 2015 Local IGF Showcase - Please Circulate

[Ilana Ullman]

Dear all,

In case of interest, please see below for information about Freedom
House's 2015 Local IGF Essay Showcase, which will be used to select at
least three individuals to receive funding to attend their national or
regional IGF. Please feel free to share with your networks.

Best,
Ilana

From: Ilana Ullman <ullman at freedomhouse.org
<mailto:ullman at freedomhouse.org>>
Date: Friday, January 30, 2015 3:33 PM
To: "Netfreedom at lists.cymru.com <mailto:Netfreedom at lists.cymru.com>"
<Netfreedom at lists.cymru.com <mailto:Netfreedom at lists.cymru.com>>
Subject: Call for Submissions for 2015 Local IGF Showcase - Please Circulate

Dear colleagues,

Freedom House's Internet Freedom team has funding to support at least
three human rights advocates, activists, or academics to attend
their *_national or regional_* Internet Governance Forum (IGF). We are
asking that you circulate this call with local partners and any others
who you believe may be interested, especially those who have
demonstrated an interest in and capacity to engage in internet
governance processes and issues.

To help the team solicit applications from individuals who are
interested in participating in this activity and to ensure a fun and
fair selection process, Freedom House is conducting the *“2015 Local IGF
Essay Showcase”. * See attached and below for full details.

As noted above, _at least three individuals will be selected to receive
funding to engage in their national or regional IGF. In addition, up to
20 essays will be selected to be published in an online gallery._ The
purpose of the gallery is to showcase the essays that best help to raise
awareness about whether and how much civil society members and human
rights perspectives are included in discussions about internet
governance in various countries and regions.

For more information and detailed instructions, please see the official
call for submissions attached and below. If you have questions, don’t
hesitate to email internetfreedom at freedomhouse.org
<mailto:internetfreedom at freedomhouse.org>. We will endeavor to respond
to your inquiries in a timely manner. 

Warm regards,

The Internet Freedom team
Freedom House



*_Request for Submissions:_*

*National and Regional 
Internet Governance Forums*

*Travel Stipends*

*
*

*- 2015 Local IGF Essay Showcase -*

 

 

*/Issue date/*:                                 January 27, 2015

*/Deadline date/*:             February 27, 2015, 23:59 EST (GMT –5:00)

*/Announcement date/*:          March 20, 2015

 

*What:* Freedom House is seeking essay submissions on the topic of the
challenges and opportunities for human rights online and internet
governance in various countries and regions. Details about the essay
specifications are below.

An internal committee will select up to three entries to award the
author/creator a small travel stipends of no more than US$3,000 for
participation in their local Internet Governance Forums (IGFs) in 2015.
Details about expectations for travel stipend recipients are below.

Furthermore, up to 20 submissions will also be featured in Freedom
House’s online gallery, to be titled “Reflections on the State of Net
Governance and Human Rights Online Around the World”, which will display
other top-rated essays. Details about usage permissions are included below.

 

*Why:* The aim of this initiative is to amplify civil society
contributions within multistakeholder dialogues in key regions and
countries on issues related to governing an open, global, secure, and
resilient internet.

 

*How:* With the aid of financial and material support to attend and
engage in local internet governance meetings, selected participants will
more persuasively advocate to other stakeholders for greater freedom
online and greater inclusion for civil society in the multistakeholder
process of governing the internet.

 

*Who:  *Individuals will be deemed eligible applicants if they meet the
following criteria:

1.     Submit their essays according to the rules and instructions below.

2.     Demonstrate a commitment to promoting human rights online and
civil society engagement in multistakeholder internet governance processes.

3.     Qualify as a non-governmental activist, academic, citizen
journalist, human rights defender, or representative of a non-profit
human rights organization.

 

*Where:* The geographic scope of this initiative is global, and thus
essay submissions are not limited to local IGFs in a particular country
or region. However, local IGFs at which civil society perspectives have
been underrepresented will be given priority consideration. Applicants
are invited to explain in their essays or in a cover letter addressed to
the selection committee why the IGF in their country or region should be
a priority, and what they believe they will contribute if they attend.

 

*When:* The submission period will open on January 27, 2015 and will
close on February 27, 2015 at 23:59 EST (GMT -5:00). Contest winners
will be announced by March 20, 2015. This award may be used to attend
any national or regional IGF between April 1, 2015 and November 15, 2015.

 

*Rules, instructions, and specifications for submission:*

 

·       Interested applicants are invited to submit a written essay
(option #1) or photo essay (option #2) describing the threats to net
freedom in their country or region and explaining how diverse
stakeholders are or should be working together to preserve an internet
that protects and promotes human rights, such as freedom of expression,
privacy, and access to information.

·       See below for specifications on options #1 and #2

·       Submission should be sent as an email attachment
to internetfreedom at freedomhouse.org
<mailto:internetfreedom at freedomhouse.org>

·       The subject of the email should be: “Local IGF Essay Challenge –
[YOUR NAME], [YOUR COUNTRY]”

·       The body of the email should list the following:

o   Full name of applicant

o   Country of representation

o   Organization or employer

o   Position title or type of affiliation

o   Email address

o   Phone number

o   Information about the national or regional IGF the applicant hopes
to attend, including planned dates and venue, website, organizers,
agenda, panelists, key participants, etc.

·       Submissions are limited to one essay per person.

·       Essays must be original work; any plagiarizing will result in
disqualification.

·       No submissions past the deadline, February 27, 2015 at 23:59 EST 
(GMT -5:00), will be accepted.

 

*Option #1: Written narrative essay.* Written essay submissions should
be between 600 to 1000 words. Essays should be non-fiction, in English,
and edited for grammar and punctuation. They may be written in either
first-person or third-person point of view on the topic of key
challenges and opportunities for human rights online in your country or
region, as well as the state of civil society engagement in local
internet governance processes.

 

*Option #2: Photo essay. *Photo essay submissions should be between five
and ten photos with brief captions. Use your creativity, but please keep
the focus of the photos related to the subject of human rights online
and internet governance in your country or region. Photos will be
evaluated based on their subject-matter relevance and artistry. Captions
should be non-fiction, in English, and edited for grammar and
punctuation. They may be written in either first-person or third-person
point of view. Prior to submission, please obtain informed consent of
any individuals pictured and identified in the photos, and be sure to
note this in the body of your submission email.

 

*Usage permissions: *By submitting an entry, applicants grant Freedom
House license to use their essays or portions of their essays (with
attribution) in the Local IGF Essay Challenge gallery online
under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/>.Freedom House will make
every effort to notify individuals prior to publication. In some cases,
essays or portions of the essays (with attribution) may appear in
private reports to funders. Freedom House will consult with the original
content creator before pursuing any other use.

 

*Note on privacy:* Freedom House will consider applicants’ requests to
remain anonymous or to withhold publication of their essay for safety
reasons on a case-by-case basis. Please inform us of such requests when
submitting your essay.

 

*Expectations for IGF travel stipend recipients*

 

Up to three essayists will be selected to receive funding to attend an
IGF meeting in their country or region. Freedom House will cover
round-trip flight, accommodation during the IGF, conference registration
fees, a per diem stipend, and necessary visa costs. Applicants are
reminded that funding will be contingent on:

 

1.)   Being selected according to the review committee criteria.

2.)   Providing receipts and documentation for reimbursement of
financial expenses that qualify as allowable costs. (A list will be
provided by Freedom House to selected participants, who will have the
responsibility to ensure an expenditure meets the specifications before
incurring the expense.)

3.)   Participating in the full IGF and reporting out on the
proceedings. (Freedom House is open to creative ideas for the format of
the report, which could take the shape of a blog post, op-ed, or
incorporate multimedia elements – such as Storify or audiovisual clips –
into a narrative internal report.)

4.)   Though not required, selected applicants are encouraged to submit
or co-submit an official workshop proposal and/or participate in an
official workshop panel during the IGF.

 

Funding for this program is provided to Freedom House through a grant
from the U.S. Department of State.

 

*_About the Organization_*

 

For more than 70 years, *Freedom House* has supported the global
expansion of freedom through advocacy activities, in-depth research on
the state of freedom country-by-country, and through direct support of
democratic reformers throughout the world. The *Global Internet Freedom
Program* seeks to coun­teract the rising trend of government censorship
and surveillance and to expand efforts to challenge restrictions on net
freedom around the world. 



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