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Call for Opinion Articles: Central American Alliance of Indigenous and Alternative Media

   En español

Are you passionate about writing? Do you want to share your opinions on matters that affect your Indigenous community in Central America or Mexico? Do you think that your elected officials are doing good things for Indigenous Peoples in your country? Do you think that Indigenous Peoples are migrating because of lack of opportunity in their place of origin? Do you feel that Indigenous Peoples should stand up for their rights as a community in the face of resource extraction? We want your opinions on these and other relevant topics of interest to Indigenous Peoples!

What is the Central American Alliance of Indigenous and Alternative Media?

The Central American Alliance of Indigenous and Alternative media (Alianza Centroamericana de Medios Indígenas y Alternativos) is made up of Cultural Survival, EntreMundos, and the Central American Network of Indigenous Community Radio (Red Centroamericana de Radios Comunitarias Indígenas, representing 60 radio stations in 7 Central American countries) and our objective is to support alternative, independent media controlled by Indigenous Peoples so that they may contribute to effective democracies that provide adequate and precise information about Indigenous issues to the public.

 

What type of articles are we looking for?

  • Articles that tackle a situation or problem faced by any Indigenous community in Central America or Mexico in an inclusive way, exposing causes and consequences, but also proposing rights, solutions, and/or alternatives.
  • Articles that are written from the perspective of the author. We are interested in articles that clearly reflect what the author thinks about a specific topic based on their experience and knowledge and that will spark an interest in readers.
     
  • Articles that explain the topic in a critical manner. The objective is that personal opinion will motivate readers to reflect and ask questions.
  • Articles that have a clear topic and structure, including an introduction, body, and conclusion, using language that isn’t obscure, as those types of articles are already circulated to a different type of audience.
     
  • Citation within the article is fine, but the opinion of the author should be the main focus.
  • The length should be between 1,000 and 1,200 words.
  • To learn more about how to write opinion articles, consult the following link: https://concepto.de/articulo-de-opinion/

What type of authors are we looking for?

  • Indigenous people (community members, Indigenous voices, or Indigenous journalists), activists, Indigenous leaders or students from Central America or Mexico passionate about writing, who want to share their ideas and worries about Indigenous topics and are open to learning about and discussing them.

How to apply?

Send us your article attaching a sheet with your name, country, Indigenous Group, email, and phone to: diana.pastor@culturalsurvival.org

The deadline to send your article is: July 22, 2020. 

Regarding the selection, dates, and prizes for the articles:

  • Selected individuals will be contacted at the end of July. It should be noted that there is a possibility that authors will be asked to edit the content or structure of their articles before they are published.
     
  • Selected articles will receive a cash award between $50 and $150 USD. The amount awarded to each author will be decided based on the judgement of the Alliance.
  • Articles will be shared via the online platforms of Cultural Survival and EntreMundos, as well as social media. They may also be published in two printed magazines.
  • Articles may be used to produce radio material in Spanish and Indigenous languages, which will be broadcast via community radio throughout Central America and Mexico.

To learn more about the Alliance’s member organizations and their primary work, consult the following links:

Cultural Survival: https://www.culturalsurvival.org/

EntreMundos: http://entremundos.org/ y http://revista.entremundos.org/

Central American Network of Indigenous Community Radio: https://www.facebook.com/RedCAComIndigena/