The Google News Initiative has announced the opening of its Innovation Challenge in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
According to the firm, the selected innovation projects will be eligible to receive up to $150,000 each in funding.
In a statement, the firm said, “The GNI Innovation Challenge has been running in the region since 2019 and the first two rounds saw 43 projects selected from 18 countries.
“Recipients of the 2019 and 2021 Innovation Challenges answered a call for projects which would increase reader engagement and/or explore new business models. The ideas ranged from digital membership schemes to Arabic language search tools.”
Head of Google News Initiative Innovation, Ludovic Blecher, said, “Over the past three years, we’ve seen news providers in the region advance a diverse range of topics from data journalism and new readers revenue models to digital newsroom tools designed to tackle climate change reporting.
“The Middle East, Turkey and Africa is a region rich with talent, high potential and opportunities. This year, we’re looking forward to seeing fresh ideas and innovative approaches to big challenges the news ecosystem is facing.”
According to the firm, news providers of all sizes are eligible to apply as projects will be evaluated against five criteria: innovation, impact on news ecosystem, diversity, equity and inclusion; inspiration; and feasibility.
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