The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)’s Office of Private Sector Exchange (BridgeUSA) is holding an open competition to decide who will run the BridgeUSA Ukraine Journalism Scholarship Program.
Depending on how much money is available, the Office plans to make one cooperative deal for about $100,000. Accredited U.S. colleges and universities, including groups of accredited U.S. colleges and universities, and U.S. public and private non-profit organisations that meet the requirements of Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) can submit proposals to give 10 to 15 Ukrainian exchange visitors scholarships to take part in journalism and media-related exchanges under the Specialist category of the Exchange Visitor Program. From the time the award is given, the programme will run for 36 months.
Purpose
To help improve the U.S. As part of the U.S. Department of State’s work with BridgeUSA exchange visitors to support U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy goals, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) Private Sector Exchange Directorate (BridgeUSA) will issue a cooperative agreement for $100,000, if funds are available, to run the BridgeUSA Ukraine Journalism Scholarship Program for 36 months. One of the best ways to fight fake news about the U.S. and democracy is to back and promote high-quality, independent journalism and an open, diverse media environment. This help is especially important because Russia is at war with Ukraine.
Misinformation from the Kremlin and other bad players can destroy morale and social stability. In this program, Ukrainian exchange students will work with American media experts on a variety of topics, such as countering disinformation and false stories that are meant to make society less stable, sharing best practises for reporting from conflict zones, and improving the quality of broadcasting and reporting by local media outlets.
Goals
BridgeUSA programmes let people from other countries come to the U.S. to teach, study, do research, show off special skills, or get training on the job for anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. The goal of BridgeUSA, which is to help Americans and people from other countries understand each other better, is still very important to U.S. national security and building links between people all over the world.
The BridgeUSA Ukraine Journalism Scholarship Program would give American and Ukrainian journal
BridgeUSA Ukraine Journalism Scholarship Program
sts the chance to learn from each other and make links. It would also show that the United States is committed to democratic values.
These principles encourage tolerance, a fair and independent legal system, freedom of speech, an open and diverse media environment, and the rule of law. Freedom of the press and high-quality, independent journalism are two of the most important ways to protect these ideals and build stable, inclusive communities that are less vulnerable to bad actors. BridgeUSA wants to do the following with the Ukraine Journalism Scholarship Program:
Encourage young leaders from the US and Ukraine to understand each other and work together in the long term;
Give BridgeUSA exchange visitors the chance to work together and share ideas, methods, and strategies to find answers to urgent local and global problems;
Support civil society, open, transparent organizations, diversity and inclusion, and human rights to build strong communities and fight misinformation.
Build a global network of professionals with similar goals who want to make good changes at work and in their communities.
Exchange Visitor Program (J-1) Eligible Programs (J-1)
Specialist: The goal is to encourage foreign and American specialists, who are experts in a field of specialised knowledge or skills and come to the U.S. to observe, consult, or show off their special skills, to share their knowledge and skills. This group is for conversations with experts in fields like communication with the mass media.
The exchange of experts is seen as a way for scientific institutions, government agencies, museums, companies, libraries, and other similar institutions to learn from each other and strengthen their connections. Most of the time, these exchanges are not related to academics, but they do give American and foreign experts a chance to talk more about their knowledge and ideas. The most time you can spend in this group is one year.
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Information about money
- Funds for the fiscal year of 2023
- Total funding could be around $100,000, depending on how much money is available for FY 2023.
- About one award will be given.
- The average award is about $100,000, depending on how much money is available for FY 2023.
- Minimum “Floor” of Award: $100,000, depending on whether or not there are enough money for FY 2023.
- Maximum “Ceiling” of Award: $100,000, if funds for FY 2023 are available.
Criteria for eligibility
Eligible Applicants: This competition is open to applications from U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, exchange-of-persons programs, and other non-profit groups that meet the requirements of Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3). At the time of the filing, the IRS must have given the applicant nonprofit status.
Other Eligibility Requirements: All proposals must meet the requirements listed in the NOFO, POGI (if applicable), and the PSI. If you don’t, your proposal will be ruled technically ineligible and won’t be looked at any further in the review process.
For this program, ECA will only look at one proposal from each applicant organisation. If an applicant has more than one application on grants.gov, ECA will only look at the one that was made closest to the NOFO deadline.
This would be the only proposal from that applicant that ECA would look at. Please note that applicant organisations are defined by their formal name and EIN number as written on their completed SF-424 and other supporting documents listed in the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) document.
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Eligible Countries: According to this NOFO, one award will be given to an exchange traveller who speaks Ukrainian and lives in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, or Ukraine. 10 to 15 exchange visitors will be chosen, with consideration given to those who are already living in Ukraine. (the award recipient should plan to select at least half of exchange visitors from Ukraine).
To find out more, go to ECA.