UNESCO, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is launching a call for submissions of video podcast proposals for a series of production grants. UNESCO plans grants of up to $3000 to support the UN video podcasts.

The organization wishes to produce and distribute a series of video podcasts for all audiences, but especially young adults (20-35), aimed at increasing understanding of the development and societal issues identified as priority fields by UNESCO, namely:

• Human Rights;
• Peace;
• Tolerance;
• Fight against discrimination, based on race, gender or other issues (e.g. HIV status);
• Millennium Development Goals, particularly poverty-alleviation and gender equality and women empowerment;
• Freedom of Expression;
• Intercultural communication.

UNESCO is interested in approaching these issues through a critical analysis of sub-regional/regional situations that can provide audiences with a fresh perspective on development issues as well as with a reflection on alternatives, at individual and community levels, to current state of affairs.

Development topics have traditionally been approached through conventional forms of audiovisual language. UNESCO does not wish to reproduce conventional approaches on these sometimes over-exposed issues but rather provide talented people with an opportunity to explore new, challenging and creative ways of encouraging reflection and debate on development issues through new uses of audio-visual language.