Is there an environmental issue in your community that you care deeply about?
We invite you to hone your skills and build communications campaigns for advocacies close to your heart.
Here is your opportunity to let the Earth be heard.
Calling creative advocates for biodiversity, oceans and landscapes: You are invited to apply for the EcoBuzz: Youth Advocacy Communications Bootcamp! We are awarding 18 teams from the Philippines to each receive support in the development and production of their environmental communications campaign upon completion of an online training and certification from June to September 2023 led by the USAID and RTI International’s SIBOL Activity in partnership with the Association of Young Environmental Journalists (AYEJ).
In this Bootcamp for the Philippines’ next generation of communicators for the environment, we will empower your team with intensive and interactive virtual sessions, learning with experts and coaching by mentors, in addition to the funding and resources to design and execute your own communications campaign. This is your chance to bring light and collective action for the sustainability of your community.
We are looking for teams:
- of 3 people, who are 18-30 years old
- with interest, background or experience in the disciplines of communications, marketing, campaigning, and/or environmental advocacy
- formed from existing school-based clubs, youth-serving or youth-led organizations, out-of-school youth groups, associations, or can simply be groups of friends or young adults with a shared passion for biodiversity and sustainability
- with the capacity and commitment to complete the Bootcamp (based on the timeline below)
Selection Criteria
We’re choosing 18 teams of Fellows to be a part of this Bootcamp based on screening of applications using the following criteria:
- Demonstrated interest, background or experience with advocacy work for the environment or their community: 25%
- Potential to impact the Philippines’ key conservation sites and protected areas: 20%
- Skills in social media, video, photography, graphic design or other multimedia: 20%
- Written and oral fluency in English and Filipino or any local language that may be used as medium for campaigns: 20%
- Diversity of the team: 15%
What’s in it for you?
- Free training and certification in advocacy communications for biodiversity and sustainability
- Masterclass-quality multimedia modules to enrich your knowledge and skills
- Access to experts and coaching by mentors in the diverse disciplines of environmental and science communications
- Access to a fund that will help you design and execute your own communications campaign
- Valuable campaign prototyping experience to practice your skills
- Opportunity to work closely with SIBOL to scale and roll out a bigger campaign for the top 3 teams
Applications extended to 10 May 2023, 23:59
Bootcamp Overview and Timeline
- Applications open: 28 March 2023
- Applications deadline: 28 April 2023
- Screening and validation interviews: 29 April to 12 May 2023
- Announcement of selected Fellows (with a public webinar): 13 May 2023
- Bootcamp Proper: 8 weeks (June to July 2023)
- 4 multimedia modules accessible during this period for asynchronous learning (2 weeks for every module):
- Grounding yourself in the sciences
- Deep dive on communications campaigns
- Effective use of digital tools
- Ensuring impact and scaling up
- 5 synchronous sessions on Saturdays, 2:00-4:00 PM, for live interactions with experts and exercises:
- 3 June
- 17 June
- 1 July
- 15 July
- 29 July
- 4 multimedia modules accessible during this period for asynchronous learning (2 weeks for every module):
- Campaign Development and Rollout: 7 weeks (August to September 2023)
- 3 weeks to put together, design and pitch communications campaigns with the support of mentors: 31 July to 19 August 2023
- The seed fund - to be used for the campaign rollout - will be available to the teams after their pitches have been accepted by SIBOL and AYEJ
- 4 weeks to execute and monitor the rollout of communications campaigns: 21 August to 16 September 2023
- Town Hall and Awarding: 16 September 2023 (may be done in-person)
- All teams will gather for this culmination and the top 3 teams will be announced for an opportunity to scale into a bigger campaign with SIBOL
Launched in 2020, the Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans, and Landscapes (SIBOL) is a P1.35-billion natural resources management and biodiversity conservation project of the United States Agency for International Development. Implemented by RTI International, SIBOL works closely with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development. The Center for Conservation Innovations, Forest Foundation Philippines, the Resources, Environment and Economics Center for Studies, and the Zoological Society of London comprise the consortium partnering with RTI.
Enabling communities to be ecologically literate and proactive towards a more livable planet - the Association of Young Environmental Journalists (AYEJ) is an ecological literacy non-profit organization working to engage and educate civil society by amplifying conversations of the earth through online and offline campaigns, building capacities on environmental journalism and climate communications, and creating content about climate change and the environment. To date, AYEJ has trained over a thousand emerging and professional journalists and communicators across the ASEAN region and the Philippines and has implemented initiatives with DepEd’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service, UP Marine Science Institute, the US and British Embassies, Forest Foundation Philippines, and the EU Delegation to ASEAN, among others.