occupied Palestinian territory: Request for Proposals: Media and Information Literacy Activity in Palestine

The UNESCO Ramallah Office is requesting a written proposal for the assignment described below, to engage an experienced organization/party to conduct Media and Information Literacy Summer Camps in Palestine, in the context of the NET-MED Youth Project, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by UNESCO.

Assignment finalization period: 15 July – 30 August 2017

1. Introduction

The objective of the NET-MED Youth Project (www.netmedyouth.org) is to contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for young women and men to develop their competencies, exercise their rights and meaningfully engage as active citizens, particularly in decision-making relating to political, social, economic, educational and cultural policy and planning processes. Toward this overall aim, the project facilitates actions that encourage mainstream media to become supportive of young people’s interests, to ensure a public space for young voices to be heard, and to raise awareness of youth rights. It promotes a fair and objective coverage of youth news, rights, achievements and perspectives in mainstream media (with attention paid to fostering a gender and disability sensitive approach), along with the strategic positioning of youth vis-à-vis national policies and programmes particularly affecting them.

In order to contribute to the above, NET-MED Youth also fosters Media and Information Literacy, awareness of freedom of expression and media production skills among young women and men; thereby building their capacities to critically and effectively engage with media and information providers. In this framework, NET-MED Youth will support the implementation of an activity in Palestine that will enhance Media and Information Literacy competencies among young women and men, thus contributing to mutual understanding, intercultural and interreligious dialogue and non-violence.

2. Background

UNESCO is a global leader in promoting Media and Information literacy (MIL) as a tool for sustainable development. As the world moves towards ‘knowledge societies’, timely access to relevant, useful and quality information is critical for making informed decisions and improving the lives of the people. With the convergence of new communication technologies with media, the ascent of the Internet and social media, as well as the growing use of computer and mobile devices, the promises of information and media have increased manifold.

This opens new horizons for every woman and man to exercise their rights to freedom of opinion, expression and access to information – to be actors in, and beneficiaries of, sustainable development. However, to enjoy these benefits, every citizen needs to be equipped with adequate devices and affordable connectivity. Without this, the gap between the information rich and the information poor will continue to grow – contributing to development gaps that would be unsustainable. Enhancing media and information literacy (MIL) as well as intercultural competencies among youth organizations, teachers and other stakeholders is a key action of UNESCO’s strategy to promote knowledge societies and foster the development of free, independent and pluralistic media and universal access to information and knowledge for good governance.

While Media Literacy (ML) and Information Literacy (IL) may embrace several notions of literacy, they traditionally have been treated as separate fields. UNESCO’s use of the term MIL harmonizes the different notions. Though Media Education (ME) is also used to refer to this field, UNESCO more recently chose to use the terms Media and Information Literacy rather than ME to clearly demarcate the field, to distinguish it from advanced media studies and to highlight the convergence between media and information.

During the preparation of this proposed activity, UNESCO considered all up-to-date achievements and results in the field of MIL in order to build upon them, including the MILID yearbook “Media and information literacy: Reinforcing Human Rights, Countering Radicalization and Extremism”; UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy online training modules and other resources, such as the MIL Curriculum for Teachers, the MIL Policy and Strategy Guidelines, MIL Assessment Framework, Guidelines for Broadcasters on Promoting MIL and User-Generated Content, and Civic Education for Media Professionals: A Training Manual; as well as other MIL activities and tools developed under the NET-MED Youth Project in other target countries, such as an MIL Toolkit that is being produced in Tunisia. The proposed activity will build upon these resources and other relevant ones.

3. Objectives and Expected Results of the assignment

The main objective of the activity will be to empower young Palestinian women and men aged 18- 25 who are members of youth organizations and media faculty graduates, by enhancing their media and information literacy competencies through capacity building, while contributing to the development of a national MIL policy and strategies, including adaptation of the UNESCO MIL Curriculum for Teachers for systemic implementation of concrete MIL activities in Palestine.

It is also important to ensure youth engagement in social and democratic discourse, tolerance and peacebuilding after having acquired MIL competencies. Youth involvement in UNESCO MIL shall be facilitated. Moreover, young people could be guided to implement MIL Policies and strategies in their youth organizations, irrespective of the mandate of their respective organizations and following to a certain extent the flow diagram (hereunder) that explains the process to ensure greater engagement.

The specific objectives of the activity will be**:**

1. To build MIL capacities among 200 young men and women from diverse youth groups , in line with UNESCO guidelines; namely, through two MIL Summer Camps, one in the West Bank and another one in Gaza;

2. To contribute to assess the current levels of youth involvement in Media and Information Literacy initiatives as well as MIL capacities in Palestine;

3. To help identify the policy and administrative structures and national programmes relevant to the implementation of MIL activities in Palestine; and

4. To contribute to the development of recommendations toward a national MIL Policy and Strategy.

The expected results of the activity are:

a. Palestinian young women and men in Gaza and the West Bank gain and apply Media and Information Literacy competencies and take action to further promote awareness of MIL as an important prerequisite for fostering equitable access to information and knowledge and promoting free, independent and pluralistic media and information systems.

b. Increased understanding, among concerned stakeholders, of the levels of Palestinian young people’s MIL capacities and involvement in Media and Information Literacy initiatives, as well as of relevant policies, structures and programmes; contributing to advance MIL in Palestine.

c. The selected organization/party will undertake this activity within the framework of UNESCO’s NET-MED Youth project, which contributes to media pluralism by supporting the improved representation of young people from diverse social groups in mainstream, community and social media platforms, as well as by promoting gender-sensitive media content and policies.

Specifically, the selected organization/party shall carry out the tasks as shown in the matrix below. Interested parties should provide, in their response to this call for proposal, the proposed budget for each:

TASK 1

a) Organization of a Summer camp (around 5 days) on MIL for 100 young men and women in the West Bank and 100 young men and women in the Gaza Strip

b) Coordinate the venue, meals, materials, transportation (if needed) and promotional materials

c) Provide a cap and t-shirt for each, (design to be cleared by UNESCO) and all logistics for the 200 total participants in West Bank and Gaza.

ACTIONS

a) Design an approach to disseminate through an open call for applications, receive and assess applications, select participating youth; all in consultation with UNESCO and according to the NET-MED Youth equity in participation, and the Project’s Communication and Visibility guidelines.

b) Design the summer camp’s agenda, development and selection of training materials, and of methodology to assess youth’s MIL, awareness & competences, and involvement in MIL initiatives (desk review, questionnaires assessing competences before and after the trainings, interviews with key stakeholders etc.)

c) Coordinate all logistical matters, including venue, transportation and meals for the 200 young men and women in West Bank and Gaza.

d) Provide certificates to trainees who complete the training offered through the summer camp.

OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES

a) Proposed approach to disseminate information about the summer camp, assess and select applicants; draft call for applications; list of all applications received and of selected participants.

b) Proposed agenda; training material; and methodology to assess youth’s MIL, awareness & competences, and involvement in MIL initiatives (It might could be one simple questionnaire at the beginning of the training and another one at the end, to assess impact, for instance)

c) Present certificates for signature by UNESCO and the organization/party in charge of the summer camp (design cleared by UNESCO)

BUDGET IN USD

Indicate budget for TASK 1

TASK 2

Identification and engagement of a team of trainers and facilitators for the Summer camps (5 days) on MIL in both the West Bank and Gaza.

ACTIONS

Identify competent MIL trainers; contract, communicate and liaise with them in regards to the development of training material (including by sharing relevant UNESCO resources) and reporting on the activities delivered, manage payment for their services

OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES

CVs of the trainers, to be approved by UNESCO

BUDGET IN USD

Indicate budget for TASK 2

TASK 3

Production of a final report in English

ACTIONS

Prepare a 5 page report (excluding annexes) including the findings of the assessment of young peoples’ MIL capacities, awareness and engagement in MIL initiatives, the lessons learned from the implementation of the summer camps and the identification of relevant policy and administrative structures, recommendations regarding MIL policy, strategy and integration of MIL curriculum for teachers.

OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES

Produce draft report for review, further editing and final approval by UNESCO

BUDGET IN USD

Indicate budget for TASK 3

Coordination and Incidentals

Indicate budget for coordination and incidentals

TOTAL

Indicate total final budget for TASKs 1, 2 and 3 as well as coordination and incidentals costs

4. Duration

The assignment is expected to start on 15 July 2017 and to be concluded not later than 30 August 2017. The contract will be issued in late June 2017.

5. Roles and responsibilities

UNESCO Ramallah office will:

a) Host an initial inception meeting to provide suggestions on approaches for the development of the summer camps;

b) Share relevant material to be considered in the development of the trainings and final report;

c) Regularly monitor content and the effective and timely implementation of the contract tasks;

d) Review drafts for all deliverables and request revisions where necessary (also liaising, as needed, with the NET-MED Youth national Youth Working Groups in the West Bank and Gaza and the European Union);

The interested organizations/party will:

a) Prepare a detailed action plan to present at the inception meeting, implement the tasks according to the agreed work plan, in regular consultation and coordination with the UNESCO Ramallah Office;

b) Ensure that reporting requirements are met to the highest standards;

c) Ensure that the expected outputs are delivered within agreed deadlines

6. Qualifications and experience of interested organization/party

It is mandatory for the interested organization/party to have the following qualification and experience:

• At least 5 Years of Media experience and knowledge of the Palestinian media landscape;

• Previous proven experience of similar activities carried out previously;

• Availability to carry out the activity in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) during the contract period as necessary;

• The team should within itself have excellent communication skills in Arabic and English as well as excellent writing and reporting skills in English.

• Previous working experience with UNESCO, other UN agencies and International NGO’s is of added-value.

By the deadline date of 20 June 2017, please submit ALL of the following using the following link:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/ramallah/about-this-office/vacancies/

Including the subject: Proposal for the Summer Camps on Media and Information Literacy in Palestine - UNESCO’s NET-MED Youth Project

Assignment finalization period: 15 July – 30 August 2017

· A proposal (2-3 pages) for the activity (including methodology, time-line and budget quoted in US dollars per task, according to the outputs/deliverables foreseen)

· A description of the proposed team, including CVs.

· A description / profile of the organization/party interested in undertaking the assignment.

Missing, unclear or incomplete information or documentation and evidence of experience as requested above, may exclude you from further consideration.