Application Guidelines

 

General information

This programme supports independent Belarusian media and media arts initiatives both inside Belarus and abroad by awarding grants for content creation and institutional development. Strengthening independent media is vital, as Belarusian outlets face severe restrictions and persecution by the authorities, particularly since the 2020 presidential elections. Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine has further exacerbated the situation.

According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Belarus is the most dangerous country in Europe for journalists— until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Belarus continues its widespread repression of independent media outlets. At the same time, Russian-financed propaganda and media influence in Belarus are on the rise, making independent voices more important than ever.

The Nordic Council of Ministers continues the Nordic Media Grants Programme for Belarus (hereafter – NMGPB), launched in 2021, in aiming on strengthening the democracy and civil society in the country through support of independent media. This programme seeks not only to ensure the vitality and sustainability of Belarusian independent media but also to provide the Belarusian people with access to trustworthy, fact-based information in an increasingly hostile media environment.

The fourth round of the NMGPB (hereafter - NMGPB IV), like the previous ones, focuses on the creation of trustful media content on the actual life, also the identity culture and history of Belarus, addressing on human rights’ situation, such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembling, rule of law and other standards of democracy and civil society, debunking propaganda and fake news and supporting investigative journalism. Media in this programme is understood in a broader sense – hence not only comprising traditional newspapers, radio, television, social networks, but includes media arts, which is the form of human communication through film, photography, video, audio, computer/digital arts, and interactive media, as well as other, artistic activities. Also, this programme seeks to create synergies of independent media and media art players with culture sector individuals and organisations to support in raising public awareness of Belarussian culture. The broader scope of the programme provides additional flexibility in supporting different forms of initiatives of Belarusian media.

Main target audience for the produced media content is the inhabitants of Belarus. Due to the current situation in Belarus, where the government exercises unrestricted control over mainstream media and media arts, the need for the independent media content is constantly increasing. The NMGPB IV will contribute to supporting Belarusian media outlets, professional and start-up journalists, and media artists in provision of independent media and media art content for Belarus population.

NMGPB IV provides a long-term approach within strengthening the democratic development and support to civil society, and within its framework and scope, it is open for additional financial contributions from other Nordic donors who want to support the initiative.

In the first round of the NMGPB, 15 project applications were approved out of 41 applications received from Belarusian independent media outlets, journalists and media artists based in Belarus and abroad, with a total grant amount of EUR 211,000. In the second round, 15 out of 56 applications received were approved, with a total grant amount of EUR 255,000, and in the third round of the programme, 17 applications out of 155 were financed, with a total grant amount of EUR 355,600.

Objective and goals

The overall goal of the Programme is to support Belarusian independent journalism and media arts initiatives and facilitate the production of high-quality, trustworthy and diverse content for Belarusian people on the developments in the country. The programme would promote the provision of objective information to the people of Belarus as a counterweight to the propaganda spread by the current Belarusian and Russian regimes.

The objectives of the Programme

  • To support Belarusian independent media outlets, journalists, and media arts through provision of grants.

  • To support capacity building of the media players and media artists.

  • To contribute to the provision of trustful information to Belarusian society.

  • To support Belarusian culture related to the media arts.

Eligible applicants and activities

Application can be submitted by:

  • Belarusian independent media outlets.

  • Belarusian journalists.

  • Belarusian creators of visual / artistic / interdisciplinary media content.

  • Non-Belarusian media outlets, which employ or contract Belarusian journalists, and have clear focus on Belarus.

The editorial offices of media outlets and media art companies should be registered or legally operating in Belarus or any other countries. Non-Belarusian media outlets and media art entities should employ or collaborate upon the service contract with the Belarusian journalists to be eligible to apply for the grant. The Belarusian free-lancers will have to provide the official document for status of a self-employed person or any other legal documents validating the journalistic or media artist activities in the relevant country.

The applicants are eligible if they:

  • prove at least two years of experience in media or media arts fields covering Belarus.

  • own media channel targeted for the audience in Belarus. 

  • submit only one application as a main applicant or partner organisation (multiple applications will not be considered).

  • include 10 percent co-funding as its own input in launching and running the project.

  • produce content with focus on the Nordic component highlighting the values they promote, e.g., democracy, equality, social welfare, sustainability, and human rights(listed as one of the outputs).

The main outputs expected from a supported project is the high-quality digital, online, broadcasted or print media or media art products addressing the Belarusian audiences in Belarus. Content can be produced in Belarusian and Russian.

All the media and media arts products created within the projects can be released in local, national, or regional media in Belarus or in international media, which is dispersed and consumed via traditional or digital media. Freelance journalists need to have their own media tool.

All funded media and media arts products must be freely accessible to a national or global online audience without any access barriers such as paid access or registration. The grant scheme will concentrate mainly on production of media and media arts content, also, it will support in some extent the enhancement of technical and human capacities of media and media art professionals, through trainings, study trips, purchase of equipment, rent of premises, etc.

Funding principles

The following expenses are eligible under four key budget categories and their subcategories:

1.      Media and media arts production costs:

1.1. Salary for production of media and media arts products (remuneration to employed journalists, translators, editors, designers, the freelance journalists acting as project applicants, etc.).

1.2. External services for production of media and media arts products (payment for provision of outsourced services obtained by contract from an outside supplier, e.g., article production, translation, editing, production of video or audio material, etc.).

2.      Travel and accommodation costs:

2.1. International travel (economy flight, train and bus tickets, fuel, insurance).

2.2. Local travel (economy public transport tickets, car rent, fuel, etc.).

2.3. Per diem for international travel (per diems cover meals costs).

2.4. Accommodation (economy hotels, etc.).

3.      Capacity building costs:

3.1 Training fee (to the trainers and coaches).

4.      Project management costs:

4.1 Project manager’s remuneration (salary or fee) – maximum 10% of the grant (ineligible for freelance journalists acting as project applicants).

4.2 Other costs (purchase or rent of equipment, distribution, and promotion of project outputs, etc.) – maximum 25% of the grant.

5.      Indirect costs (Overheads) (costs related to the administration of the project, such as office supplies, accounting, communication costs, etc.) – maximum 7% of the grant.

The maximum duration of projects – 12 months.

The minimum grant is 5.000 EUR, and the maximum – 30.000 EUR.

All the expenses shall be well justified and relevant to the project activities. The budget in Application shall be detailed, e.g., clearly indicating the number of units and costs per unit.

Applications shall include 10 percent co-funding by the Applicant as its own input in launching and running the project. Proposals with justified bigger co-funding by the Applicant or merged funding by the third-party will be viewed favourably during the selection process and are encouraged. Co-funding may be given as a monetary or in-kind contribution, either by the Applicant or through a third-party (e.g., organisation, partner, donor, authority) towards the project. To be considered as co-funding the contribution needs to be directly linked to the budgetary framework provided and be an integral part of the Application.

Application and implementation process

The Nordic Council of Ministers Office (NCM) in Lithuania will be in charge of management and monitoring of the NMGPB. The NCM in Lithuania will form Evaluation Committee (EC) which will make decisions on selection and funding of successful projects.

The deadline for submission of applications is 3 November 2025 (latest at 23.59 UTC +2 / Eastern European Time (EET). Applications should be signed by the official representative of the Applicant and submitted to mediagrantsbelarus@norden.lt or mediagrantsbelarus@proton.me in two formats – a scanned document in a pdf format and in a Word format. Any Application submitted after this deadline will be rejected. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that the Application is prepared in accordance with these Guidelines and is submitted within the deadlines given.

The Application must follow the template of the provided Application Form and take note of the instructions given there. Applicants are encouraged to make themselves familiar with the Application Form before they start drafting the Application.

All submitted and registered applications will be pre-screened and evaluated according to their correspondence to the selection criteria and cross-cutting themes.

The projects are encouraged to address or relate to the following cross-cutting themes: sustainable development goals (human and social aspects, e.g., democracy, civil society, humans’ rights), gender and youth. Also, the project media and media arts products must comply with the core principles of good journalism: truth and accuracy, independence, fairness and impartiality, humanity, and accountability. The application shall include description of the relevancy of the project to the cross-cutting themes and the principles of good journalism. The projects that apply new technical solutions and create innovative media platforms, with the aim to get a better outreach to younger audiences, are encouraged to apply. This could also include elements of cooperation and using common platforms, where media outlets, journalists and media artist operating in different countries will have possibilities to cooperate and meet to strengthen networking and common activities. Project may as well facilitate cooperation between different media and media art actors in one specific country, as well as between actors in Belarus and in other countries.

The Application shall clearly specify the project outputs, e.g., number of articles published, number of videos produced and broadcasted, number of radio reportages issued, number of posts on social media posted; project outcomes, e.g., size of Belarusian audience reached by project outputs, number of the new journalists/editors engaged, new cooperation with other media outlets established, etc.

Applicants are required to provide both current and planned audience share, along with absolute figures – including the number of subscribers, views, and audience reach within Belarus. Audience share should be calculated using reliable market data or recognized analytical tools (e.g., Google Analytics, YouTube Analytics, or other audience measurement systems relevant to the market). The requested data must be included in the application and, if awarded a grant, reported again in interim and final reports.

Applications shall provide clear evidence of project sustainability, covering the further actions of the applicant in continuing project activities, which will be assessed during evaluation stage.

A balance between media and media arts projects, also between big media players and free-lancers will be ensured during project selection.

Selection criteria:

  • Relevance of the project and justification of the project need.

  • Quality of the project design and implementation including Theory of Change and results framework.

  • Cost-efficiency (budget adequacy to the project outputs, funding-duration ratio, share of co-funding).

  • Outreach of the target audience.

  • Sustainability of the project.

  • Correspondence to the programme cross-cutting themes.

  • Nordic media and media arts outputs are planned to be created.

  • Belarusian independent media and media arts partnership (advantageous criteria).

Granting and implementation of the selected projects

The successful Applicants will be notified by e-mail by the mid of December 2025. The successful Applicants will sign a Grant Agreement with the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania. Before signing the Grant Agreement, the Applicant may choose the grant payment order from two options: 1) 55+45% or 2) 40+45+15%, where:

  • the first payment is transferred as advance payment after signing the Grant Agreement.

  • the interim payment (in the second option, only) is transferred as advance payment after approval of the Interim Report.

  • the last payment is transferred as compensation of the expenses paid within the project timeframe after approval of the Final Report.

Implementation of the approved project may start after signed Grant Agreement. All projects must be finished not later than 31 January 2027. Project cannot last longer than one year.

The grant shall be used according to the project budget agreed in the Grant Agreement. Any shifting of up to 10% of grants between the budget lines within the same budget category are allowed without approval of the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania. The shifting of more than 10% from one budget line to another within the same budget category should be approved by the NCM office in Lithuania by e-mail. The key project changes, such as reallocation of budget between the budget categories, changing the duration, location, activities, outputs of the project or any other key project elements, should be agreed in the Amendment to the Grant Agreement.

The grantee is obliged to pay all the taxes according to the national legislation of the relevant country. All the project expenses (including co-funding) should be paid within the project timeframe: not earlier than the first day and not later than the last day of the project. Only economy class tickets and hotels are eligible to be paid from the grant for travel and accommodation expenses. The per diems are eligible for international travel only and should be calculated upon the fixed rates in the actual framework of EC-funded external aid.

The justification of the co-funding (in line with the project budget) is mandatory. The justification of the overheads (7%) is not mandatory but encouraged.

The Interim Report shall be submitted by the date specified in the Grant Agreement. The Interim Report will require to submit a short narrative report on project activities and financial report with the supporting financial documents for advance payment used. The interim advance payment (in case of the second payment order option) is made after approval of the Interim Report.

A Final Report including project narrative and financial parts shall be submitted to the NCM Office in Lithuania not later than one month after the end of the project. The narrative part of the Final Report shall describe the project activities implemented and project outputs and outcomes achieved together with documentation of the produced and published media products. A list of the project outputs shall be provided together with active links to the media products to reach them on-line (if relevant). In the case of producing printed media outputs, digital copies or photocopies of the printed media products should be submitted with the Final Report. No paper copies are required.

Data on the audience in Belarus and other countries and accessibility metrics shall be provided using data tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Ads reports etc.

The financial part of the Final Report (in Excel spreadsheet) shall specify all the project expenses incurred in line with the project budget. Each expense incurred should be declared on a separate line and supported by copies of financial documents, such as digital copies of signed service contracts, signed invoices, salary calculation tables (indicating taxes paid), time sheets, travel tickets, boarding passes, bank payment orders, bank statements, etc. The expenses on fuel shall be justified in specifying the project related travel goal and destination, date, distance in kilometres, vehicle, etc.

The project currency is Euro. Expenses in another currency must be converted into euros, justifying the exchange rate applied (e.g., bank statement, reference to the official exchange rate, etc.).

All project documentation (application, corresponding, reports) must be in English.

Management and Information

The management and monitoring of the programme will be carried out by the NCM Office in Lithuania.

All information about the programme is also available on www.norden.lt and http://www.nordicmediagrants.org. All questions related to the program should be addressed to mediagrantsbelarus@norden.lt or mediagrantsbelarus@proton.me

 

 
 
 

 

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