Deadline- May 10, 2012
Countries/Region- Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The Open Society Documentary Photography Project and the Arts and Culture Program created the grant in 2009 to support photographers from the region who contribute to civil society by critically exploring current social problems. The focus of the grant and training program is to encourage long-form documentary storytelling that explores issues in-depth and over time, rather than spot news photography. The program promotes personal and professional growth through guided and personalized feedback, project assistance, and professional education. The Open Society also recognize the lack of affordable, advanced training programs for photographers in the region. This grant program aims to help locally-based photographers compete in international markets.
Eligibility–
- The competition is open to photographers from the following countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
- Applicants must currently reside in their home country. Exceptions will be made for applicants from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan living outside their home country.
- Applicants from other countries may also be eligible if they can demonstrate a long-term commitment to one of the designated countries (for example, by having lived and worked in one of the countries for many years).
- Professional and emerging photographers are eligible to apply. Photographers who have not specialized in documentary photography will be considered as long as the proposed work is documentary in nature.
- Technical familiarity with photography is required. Journalists or activists who have not had experience with photography are not eligible to apply.
- Applicants must speak English or Russian.
- Participants must be able to attend both workshops (in November 2012 and June 2013) and commit themselves to working and communicating consistently over the six months of the grant term.
- Collaborative projects will be considered and applicants from different countries may apply together (in which case each photographer will receive a $3,500 grant).
Areas of Interest
Proposals should address a specific problem of social justice or human rights in one or more of the eligible countries. Listed below are topics of interest to the Open Society Foundations-
- Women’s human rights;
- Sexual and reproductive health and rights;
- Ethnic minorities;
- Migration, including labor migrants, migrant detention, returned migrants, border controls, migrant children and children left behind, labor migration from CA republics to Russia;
- LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) rights;
- Statelessness and citizenship;
- Pre-trial detention, including ill-treatment in custody;
- War crimes and crimes against humanity;
- Religious freedom;
- Climate change and environmental challenges;
- Urban renewal and transformation
- Public health issues including but not limited to tuberculosis, HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis C, and access to essential medicines;
- Palliative care;
- Drug policy and narcotics;
- Resource development and exploitation;
- Violence against women, including harmful traditional practices;
- Regional and ethnic integration;
- Youth activism; and
- Disability rights/equality and inclusion of people with disabilities.
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