It’s the time of year again when I drop a line to Globies about the BBC-Royal Geographical Society “Journey of a Lifetime” award, which is always of great interest to Globies. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with this since it started eight years ago. Last year’s winner Emily Ainsworth made a cracking programme about touring with a Mexican circus, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Friday 29 August at 11.00 am.
If this isn’t too late for your eNewsletter, please could you give the programme a mention? And most importantly, please could you tell Globies how to apply for the 2009 award, for which the deadline is Friday 26 September.
In a nutshell, up to £4,000 is on offer for an original and inspiring journey anywhere in the world. The winner will receive training in radio broadcasting from the BBC and will record their experiences for a BBC Radio 4 documentary. What they want is to inspire an interest in the world and its people and at the same time discover new radio broadcasting talent.
Full details are at: http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/Grants/Journey+of+a+Lifetime.htm
Info about previous programmes (with “Listen Again” links) are at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/journeyofalifetime.shtml
Background
Your Journey of a Lifetime – it’s the territory of imagination and dreams, the lure of the distant horizon and the tug of the unknown. The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), in partnership with BBC Radio 4, offer you the chance to make that journey and to tell the world about it in a memorable piece of radio documentary-making. Each year the RGS-IBG and the BBC support the best idea for an original, exciting, and exceptional journey. It’s important that the project takes you somewhere fresh, different and original. Therefore it’s a good idea to bear in mind where previous winners have been (such as Mexico in 2008, Kenya in 2007 and Egypt in 2006).
Your journey needs really to matter to you: we need to feel your passion and enthusiasm and Radio 4 listeners need to be fascinated. The BBC already broadcasts a lot of documentaries about faraway places. When developing your idea, make sure it’s the sort of thing journalists rarely have the time to cover. Most reporters can only afford the time and money to make short visits to meet important people and don’t get immersed in the local society.
The programme you’ll be making needs to tell your story – and that of the journey and the place you’ll be visiting – in a graphic and attractive way. Think of all the audio potential in the idea – not just indigenous music and sounds, but how you are going to find interesting sounds within the substance of the journey (by keeping an audio-diary, for example). Radio is very good on atmospherics and imaginative pictures, but you need to think about what your journey and your destination offer to create those pictures.
Eligibility guidelines
* You’ll be travelling between January and July 2009.
* Applicants must be aged 18 or over.
* BBC and RGS-IBG staff and their close relatives are not eligible to apply for grants.
* The BBC will retain editorial control over any programme it may make. It can’t guarantee that any programme it may make will be broadcast.
* Interviews will be held in November 2008 in London. You must be able to attend these interviews in person.
* Applications from small teams rather than solo travellers are accepted, but please make it clear in your application if this is the case.
* The award is for independent travel. We will NOT consider any journey joining a commercial expedition or pre-paid tour, including organised charity fundraising tours.
How to apply
Applications may be submitted by email (in MS Word format) or by post or fax, to arrive by Friday 26 September 2008.
Initial proposal – applying for the Journey of a Lifetime award is easy. We’re only looking for the ‘pitch’ of your idea at this stage – the core idea that makes this your Journey of a Lifetime. Your pitch should be no longer than 550 words and should provide:-
A two-line summary – A very brief description of your planned journey. Think of this as what would appear as your headline in the Radio Times.
A 250-300 word description of the journey in more detail. You don’t have to include everything listed here, but it may help you to consider:
* Why is this a journey of a lifetime?
* Why will it make a good radio broadcast?
* Why is it of interest to the audience?
* How will you achieve the journey?
* What will you get out of it?
* What will the audience get out of it?
* Why you and not somebody else?
Please remember to keep this brief. At this stage we’re not looking for detailed route plans or budgets.
Send your initial proposal by email, post or fax to the RGS-IBG grants officer at the address below to arrive by Friday 26 September 2008. From the initial proposals, up to ten projects will be shortlisted by a panel of judges. Those selected will be asked to prepare a more detailed proposal.
Note: Digital photographs should be in JPEG or TIFF format, A5 size, with a resolution of at least 300dpi.
Enquiries and applications
Grants Officer Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR T: 020 7591 3073 F: 020 7591 3031 E: grants@rgs.org W: http://www.rgs.org/grants