Sustainable and inclusive fisheries in Honduras, female athletes in Kenya, value-added trade in Uganda and plastic waste in Malaysia are among the topics that will be explored by successful applicants to the summer 2019 round of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund.
Eleven media professionals drawn from various local and national media outlets will travel to developing countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The funding awarded to the eleven successful applicants is in excess of €44,500.
Details of the successful applicants are as follows:
- Marcelo Biglia has been awarded funding to travel to Morocco. He will produce a series of interviews and portraits of local women who are living and working as carriers at the border between Morocco and Spain. Marcello’s work will be published by The Irish Times. It will be accompanied by a photographic exhibition in The Copper House Gallery.
- Eoin Butler has been supported to travel to Uganda with filmmaker Emile Dineen. The pair will produce a print and multimedia project that will tell the story of reggae musician, turned politician and philanthropist, Bobi Wine, offering a snapshot of his country, and its political, social and ethnic issues, as it moves towards real democracy. This project will be published by The Irish Times.
- Cormac Fitzgerald has received support to travel to Nepal, where he will explore the human impact of changing climate patterns in urban and rural areas of the country. Cormac’s project will also examine the work being done to adapt to increasing temperatures and mitigate the negative effects, and to prepare for potential disasters as they occur. This project will be published on TheJournal.ie.
- Della Kilroy has been awarded funding to travel to Honduras. She will examine the impact of violence on women and children who migrate to the USA in order to escape it. Della’s project will look at the driving forces such as poverty and unemployment; explore the lives of women who chose to stay or leave Honduras; what medical services are available for Honduran women; and investigate the lives of at-risk children growing up in Honduras. Her project will be broadcast by RTÉ.
- Sarah MacDonald has been supported to travel to Timor Leste. She will produce a documentary that will look at the last 20 years of life in the country, and the after-effects of the decades-long struggle for independence that are still being felt. Sarah’s project will be broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1.
- Michael Marangos has been awarded funding for a project in Honduras focusing on the development of sustainable and inclusive fisheries and looking at the reality of life, economic development and sustainability for communities in the region. Michael aims to demonstrate the deep effects of climate change, overfishing, and pollution on local communities. Michael’s work will be published by Independent.ie.
- Jake O’Donnell has been supported to travel to Kenya. He will tell the story of how the success of high-profile female athletes in long-distance running is providing an opportunity for the next generation of young girls and women across the country to become leaders in their communities and to transform the development of their home towns and villages. Jacob’s project will be published by [Off the Ball?].
- Lisa O’Donnell has been funded to travel to Sierra Leone. She will explore the issue of teenage pregnancy according to several themes, including efforts to reduce rates; the personal stories of young women in Freetown who fell pregnant as teenagers; and the challenges that remain in place for girls in Sierra Leone. Lisa’s work will be published in the Irish Daily Mail and on Extra.ie.
- Joan O’Sullivan has received funding to travel to Malaysia to demonstrate the scale of the plastic waste problem there, one of the top destinations for the rubbish of Western countries. It will platform the voices of local people who been effected by this mass dumping and by the plastic fires being burnt nearby. Joan’s work will appear on RTÉ.
- Sorcha Pollak has been awarded funding to travel to Peru where she will investigate the social, political and economic implications of the arrival of nearly a million Venezuelans into a nation which has little experience of immigration. Her project will provide an insight into how this country is managing such mass immigration and what attempts are being made to integrate them into Peruvian society. Sorcha’s work will be published by The Irish Times.
- Charlie Taylor has been supported to travel to Uganda where he will tell the story of value-added trade and how three groups in Uganda with Irish connections are harnessing the value of local skills and products to improve livelihoods. and the story will also focus on how people can work their way out of poverty if given a chance. Charlie’s work will be published by The Irish Times.
