The Open Society Documentary Photography Project and Arts and Culture Program announce a grant and training opportunity for documentary photographers from Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Pakistan.

The grant is being offered to:

•visually document issues of importance in the region; and
•provide training and support to photographers from the region.
Approximately 10 cash stipends in the amount of $3,500 each will be awarded to photographers to produce a photo essay on a current human rights or social issue in the region.

Grantees will participate in two master-level workshops on visual storytelling through photography and multimedia. These workshops are led by internationally recognized photographers and industry professionals who will then provide ongoing mentorship and support throughout the six-month grant term.

The Open Society Foundations will pay travel and hotel expenses and provide a per diem to cover meals and incidentals for the workshops.

This grant is intended for photographers who are committed to pursuing a career in photography and have prior technical expertise and/or training.

Deadline
The deadline for applying is May 10, 2012 at 5pm EST. The grant will begin in November 2012 and end in June 2013.

More Information
For more information, please see the production grant guidelines: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/focus_areas/production-individual/guidelines

http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/news/production-grants-20120321

The Embassy of the United States of America in Tajikistan is now accepting applications for the 2013-2014 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program is for experienced professionals interested in strengthening their leadership skills through a mutual exchange of knowledge and understanding about issues of common concern in the U.S. and the Fellows’ home countries. As a non-degree program, the Fellowship offers valuable opportunities for professional development through selected university courses, attending conferences, networking, and practical work experiences. During the year, Fellows pursue their individual program goals while working closely with their Humphrey colleagues in workshops and seminars. Unlike a typical graduate school experience, the program encourages Fellows to travel away from their host campus to learn more about American culture and to network with their American peers.

Eligible fields:

• Agricultural and Rural Development

• Communications/Journalism

• Substance Abuse Education, Treatment, and Prevention:

• Economic Development/Finance and Banking

• Higher Education Administration

• Educational Administration, Planning and Policy

• HIV/AIDS Policy and Prevention

• Human Resource Management

• Law and Human Rights

• Natural Resources/Environmental Policy/Climate Change

• Public Health Policy and Management

• Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

• Teaching English as a Foreign Language (Teacher-Training/Curriculum Development)

• Technology Policy and Management

• Trafficking in Persons Policy and Prevention

• Urban and Regional Planning

Appropriate candidates are mid-career professionals in leadership positions who have a commitment to public service and the potential for professional advancement. Prospective Fellows should have a minimum of five years of professional experience, and should have completed a university degree prior to August 2013. They should be interested in the policy aspects of their fields of specialization. Candidates must have completed a university degree program requiring at least four years of full-time study in order to qualify for participation in U.S. graduate study programs. Candidates should be proficient in both written and spoken English. Semifinalists will be required to take the Internet-based TOEFL.

Individuals who have attended a graduate school in the United States for one academic year or more during the seven years prior to August 2013, as well as individuals with other recent U.S. experience (more than six months during the five years prior to August 2013), are not eligible for this program.

To apply: Applicants must apply through the online application system. The online application is available at http://apply.embark.com/student/humphrey/fellowship/

More information is available at http://humphreyfellowship.org/.

Interested persons should submit completed applications online by 5 p.m. local time on June 30 2012. Late applications will not be accepted. For additional information and a complete application package, please contact Shafoat Kabilova via e-mail: KobilovaS@state.gov or telephone: 229-2314; 229-2000

http://humphreyfellowship.org/

The OSCE Academy in Bishkek invites applications for the Master of Arts in Politics and Security Programme 2012-2013. The Programme offers advanced courses in political science, international relations and a range of applied disciplines in comprehensive security and conflict prevention and resolution with a focus on Central Asia.

The MA program is supported by the OSCE and a number of OSCE participating states and partner institutions. The coursework starts on 3 September 2012 and finishes on 30 September 2013.

Deadline Extended: 23 APRIL, 2012

Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the following admission criteria:

Successful completion of an academic degree of higher education (BA, MA, MSc, Diploma) in Political Science and other related fields, or enrollment in the final year of an undergraduate degree

Excellent knowledge of English

Applicants should not be older than 32 years on 3 September 2012

Citizenship preferably of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan

Applicants from other OSCE participating states can be accepted for the program, but on a limited basis only.

Financing:
The OSCE Academy in Bishkek covers:

Round trip travel expenses within Central Asia
Monthly stipend of EUR 180 per month
Housing allowance of EUR 95 for non-residents of Bishkek
Health insurance (Citizens of Kyrgyzstan are not eligible)
Child allowance of EUR 15 per child and single parent support (Medical insurance, transportation and visa costs are NOT provided for spouses and children)

Interested candidates should submit completed application form (available online: http://www.osce-academy.net/en/admission/), copies of diplomas and transcripts and two letters of recommendation to master@osce-academy.net or the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, 1 A Botanicheskiy per., Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan until 23 APRIL, 2012

Best qualified candidates only will be contacted for written tests and interviews.

For further information, please also contact the “OSCE Academy in Bishkek”

by phone: +996 (312) 54-12-00

or email: master@osce-academy.net

or visit: http://www.osce-academy.net/en/adm

http://www.osce-academy.net/en/adm

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: April 20, 2012

The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe announces a request for proposals under the 2012 Democracy Commission Small Grants Program.

The purpose of the program is to award small grants for specific projects that support the development of democratic institutions in Tajikistan. Primarily, grants will be awarded to non-governmental, non-profit organizations (NGOs). The amount of a grant must not be more than $50,000 (USD), but the Commission will give priority to applications that implement similar projects with lower budgets. To be eligible for consideration, every applicant must be engaged in or carry out a project the purpose of which is to promote the development of democratic institutions in Tajikistan. The Democracy Commission Small Grants Program has existed in Tajikistan since 2001.

The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe will accept proposals for consideration by the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program on the following themes:

Gender Issues

· Legal Issues

· Economic Issues

· Social/Political Issues

Proposals should contain clearly formulated goals and target groups, and show the ability of the applying organization to carry out the project. Prior to submission all applicants requesting over $25,000 USD must obtain the organization’s Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) DUNS (www.dnb.ru) and get registered in the CCR: (https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx).

Proposals along with the filled-out SF form 424 attached separately should be submitted in English only via e-mail to:

E-mail: GrantProposalsDushanbe@state.gov

Contact person: Sherzod Abdujabborov

U.S. Embassy, Public Affairs Section

Tel: (992 37) 229 2315, 229 2000; fax: (992 37) 229 2050

Note: Projects with a computer based English translation will not be accepted.

The U.S. Embassy’s Democracy Commission Grant Program is limited to organizations based in Tajikistan. Projects NOT funded by the U.S. Embassy Democracy Commission Program include those requested by non-Tajikistani organizations, those relating to partisan political activity, charitable activity and humanitarian aid, fund-raising campaigns, commercial projects, those involving individuals not affiliated with an organization that can provide long-term sustainability to the project, and those that duplicate existing projects.

Grant application forms are available on our web site http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/demcom.html or from the attachment. They can also be obtained from the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe via the email noted above. If you have additional questions or need consultation on your project proposal please contact the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy at the numbers above on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 to 12:00.

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/demcom.html

An annual U.S. government report is adding U.S. ally Turkey as well as Tajikistan to a list of the worst violators of religious rights.

The report to be released on March 20 by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) cites Turkey for «systematic and egregious limitations» on religious liberty.

Turkey and Tajikistan are among a total of 16 nations listed by the commission as countries of particular concern.

The Turkish ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan, dismissed the commission’s action as unjustified.

«Any unbiased eye will immediately realize that that’s not where Turkey belongs in the USCIRF annual report,» Tan told The Associated Press.

Among other problems, the report criticizes Turkey for regulating non-Muslim groups by restricting how they can train clergy, offer education, and own their places of worship.

Congress established the commission in 1998 to compile the reports for use by the president, the secretary of state, and lawmakers. Aside from Turkey and Tajikistan, the report also listed Myanmar, North Korea, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

While the commission recommends action the U.S. government should take to encourage improvements in religious freedom in the various countries, the State Department usually narrows down the list to a smaller group it cites for particular concern in its own annual report on religious freedom. Those countries can be subject to sanctions.

Based on AP reports

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan_turkey_religious_rights/24521456.html

Scholarship / Financial aid: the cost of travel and accommodations, as well as a per diem allowance offered

Date: 2012

Deadline: March 30, 2012

Open to: professional journalists from developing countries

The Dag Hammarskjцld Fund for Journalists is now accepting applications from professional journalists from developing countries for its 2012 fellowship program. The application deadline is Friday, March 30, 2012.

The fellowships are available to radio, television, print and web journalists, age 25 to 35, from developing countries who are interested in coming to New York to report on international affairs during the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The fellowships will begin in early September and extend to late November and will include the cost of travel and accommodations in New York, as well as a per diem allowance.

The fellowship program is open to journalists who are native to one of the developing countries in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean, and are currently working full-time for a bona fide media organization in a developing nation. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in and commitment to international affairs and to conveying a better understanding of the United Nations to their readers and audiences. They must also have approval from their media organizations to spend up to two months in New York to report from the United Nations. Click here for full eligibility criteria and documentation requirements and the fellowship application form.

In an effort to rotate recipient countries, the Fund will not consider journalist applications for 2012 from nations selected in 2011: China, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria. Journalists from these countries may apply in 2013.

Four journalists are selected each year after a review of all applications. The journalists who are awarded fellowships are given the incomparable opportunity to observe international diplomatic deliberations at the United Nations, to make professional contacts that will serve them for years to come, to interact with seasoned journalists from around the world, and to gain a broader perspective and understanding of matters of global concern. Many past fellows have risen to prominence in their professional and countries. The program is not intended to provide basic skills training to journalists, as all participants are media professionals.

Questions about the program, eligibility and application process can be directed to fellowship@unjournalismfellowship.org.

Website: http://unjournalismfellowship.org/node/564
Email: fellowship@unjournalismfellowship.org

http://unjournalismfellowship.org/node/564

VIENNA, 7 March 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, appealed to the Government of Tajikistan today to reverse instructions to block the Facebook social media platform and four websites reporting on social and political affairs.

Internet service providers in Tajikistan say that on 2 March they received instructions by the Communications Service government agency to block access to Facebook and four news websites, [url=tjknews.com, maxala.org, centrasia.ru and zvezda.ru]tjknews.com, maxala.org, centrasia.ru and zvezda.ru[/url] (Polyarnaya Zvezda online portal).

“Despite occasional blocking of certain websites in Tajikistan, Internet has remained largely free,” Mijatović said. “This is the first time access to social media has been denied and I hope that this worrying development will not create a precedent.”

“As I pointed out in my letter to Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi on 5 March, Internet should remain an open public forum for discussion and free expression of opinions, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this letter I also expressed hope that access to Facebook and the four news websites would be restored without delay,” Mijatović said.

Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns the sudden escalation in cyber-censorship by the Tajik government. Since 2 March, a dozen local Internet Service Providers have received orders to block access to the social network Facebook and four independent news websites.

“A year and a half after the last episode of this kind, the Tajik authorities have gone back to large-scale cyber-censorship,” Reporters Without Borders said. “This major blocking initiative is as inacceptable as it is absurd.”

For the most part, it has been impossible to access Facebook, the Russian geopolitical analysis site Polyarnaya Zvezda (Polar Star), the Tajik exile political news site Tjknews.com, the Uzbek news site Maxala.org and the Central Asian news site Centrasia.ru since the morning of 3 March.

State telecommunications chief Beg Zukhurov denied on 5 March that any orders had been given to ISPs and blamed “technical problems.” But the local press obtained a copy of a letter signed by Zukhurov’s deputy which was received by the main ISPs and which told them to “block access” to these five sites “in connection with preventive technical work (LINK).”

According to the information obtained by Reporters Without Borders, Poliarnaya Zvezda was the first site to be blocked, on the evening of 2 March. This tends to support the theory of several commentators that the cyber-censorship was prompted by an article on this site entitled “Tajikistan on the eve of a revolution” that was very critical of President Emomali Rakhmon’s government.

It is thought that the other sites were blocked when they, too, posted the offending article. Central Asia’s leading Russian-language news website, Fergananews, has meanwhile been surprised to learn that it has also been partially blocked in Tajikistan for several days.

The blocking of Facebook is especially absurd as it has only 35,000 users, far fewer than the Russian-language social networks Moy Mir and Vkontakte, which have 150,000 and 100,000 respectively.

The ruling People’s Democratic Party meanwhile announced yesterday that it plans to launch an alternative social network. The plan is reminiscent of the Uzbek government’s recent creation of Muloqot.uz, a national social network that is monitored and expurgated.

Generalized content filtering and attempts to move Internet users to “national” social networks are spreading alarmingly in Central Asia. So is the idea that the Internet should be carved up into national segments that are subject to locally-determined norms in the name of “security” and “local values.”

Tajikistan submitted a proposal for an “Internet code of good conduct” to the United Nations on 23 September. Supported by China, Russia, and Uzbekistan, it basically aims to subject the free flow of information to local standards and government imperatives.

Joint Statement of the Media Organizations of Tajikistan

Dushanbe, 9 March 2012

The Tajik Union of Journalists (UJT), the Tajik National Association of Independent Mass Media (NANSMIT), the Tajik Media Alliance (MAT), the Tajik Media Council and the Tajik Memorial Foundation of Journalists decisively condemn the actions of the Communication Service under the government of Tajikistan leading to limited access to the social network Facebook and other certain Internet resources covering the issues of public and political life.

Since last week, citizens of Tajikistan have had no access to Facebook and a number of other Internet resources, which is a violation of the constitutional right of access to information. Tajikistan’s Internet providers report that on 2 March they received an order from the government Communication Service to block access to Facebook and to the following four web sites: www.tjknews.com, www.maxala.org, www.centrasia.ru and www.zvezda.ru (the Internet portal of the Russian periodical Polyarnaya Zvezda). As an excuse for the blocked access, the communication authorities chose “prophylactic maintenance”, which does not sound very convincing.

Information and communication experts say that the blocking of social networks and web sites is seen as an inefficient and short-sighted action. The state communications agency used to perform similar actions. Such ungrounded and unjustified acts damage Tajikistan’s image; this is a direct threat to the national information security.

According to Tajikistan’s Information Security Concept, “…the striving of potential adversaries to infringe Tajikistan’s interests in the global information space along with attempts to push the country out of domestic and international markets, and aggravation of international rivalry in the area of ownership of information and communication technologies are the main sources of threat to the national information security”.

We are confident that nobody has authorized the Communication Service under the government to violate the right of citizens to information, and we demand to immediately lift the order blocking domestic access to Facebook and other web sites.

Akbarali Sattorov, UJT
Nuriddin Karshiboev, NANSMIT
Zinatullo Ismoilov, Tajik Media Council
Khurshed Niyozov, MAT
Mukhtor Bokizoda, Memorial Foundation of Journalists