Pulitzer Center Update November 10, 2026
Pulitzer Center Announces Support for Global South Civic Engagement Through 2026 Civil Society Grants
The Pulitzer Center is supporting 32 civic engagement projects across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, as part of its 2026 Civil Society Grants. Selected from 628 submitted proposals, these projects will use Pulitzer Center-supported reporting to contribute to a more informed public dialogue and community engagement.
Spanning 19 countries, the projects cover topics on ocean and coastal community resilience, forest governance, and Indigenous people’s rights, as well as the intersection of climate and labor. Led by civil society organizations, grassroot collectives, and individual artists and cultural workers, these projects will connect insights from journalism with community knowledge and lived experiences through a range of approaches including digital campaign, youth storytelling, performance, and dialogue with decision-makers.
This program reflects the Pulitzer Center’s approach in supporting journalism’s impact beyond publication. As Flora Pereira, Pulitzer Center’s Chief Impact Officer puts it, “Journalism doesn't create change in isolation. Its power grows when it connects with the people, organizations, and communities that can put information to use. By supporting civil society organizations, we are strengthening the ecosystems that allow journalism to contribute to meaningful change.”
CSO Grantees announcement 2026 by Anderson Rodrigues
Below are more details about the projects selected for the 2026 Civil Society Grant in the Global South regions.
AFRICA
Our Forests, Our Rights: Informing and Mobilizing Communities Around Odzala-Kokoua National Park
Name of organization: Observatoire Congolais de Lutte contre l'Apatridie (OCLA)
Location: Cuvette-Ouest, Republic of Congo
Project description: Strengthening the capacity of Indigenous people and local communities living around Odzala-Kokoua National Park to understand and address the issue of human-wildlife conflict. The story "Conflit homme-faune : Une barrière électrique repousse des éléphants des champs des communautés de Bomassa" will be used as a tool for learning and dialogue in community discussions for community-driven action targeting decision-makers.
Forests in Danger, Communities in Action: Raising Awareness To Better Protect the Forests of South Kivu
Name of organization: Empowerment-Group (E-GROUP)
Location: South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
Project description: The project aims to address a lack of information and critical thinking among local farming communities surrounding Kahuzi-Biega National Park. People in these areas face ecosystem degradation, challenges related to forest resource governance, and the effects of climate change. The story "Carbon Credits in the Congo: The Cost of Capture" will be used to contribute to farmers and local communities’ understanding of the intersection between forest governance, climate finance, and community rights and interests through community discussions and participatory radio programs. The project aims to enable communities to define realistic community commitments to forest protection and landscape restoration.
Engaging Communities in the Fight Against Illegal and Deadly Artisanal Gold Mining in Côte d'Ivoire
Name of organization: Réseau d'Action Sur les Armes Légères en Afrique de l'Ouest, section Côte d'Ivoire (RASALAO-CI)
Location: Maféré, Côte d'Ivoire
Project description: This project aims to raise awareness among local communities and decision-makers about the dangers of illegal gold mining causing loss of life and forest degradation in the municipality of Maféré in Côte d’Ivoire. Inspired by the story "Radio: Côte d'Ivoire: La restauration des terres dégradées par l’orpaillage clandestin à Séguéla," the project will showcase model solutions for restoring degraded forests and raise awareness among youth, women, and traditional and administrative authorities through a public conference and dialogue between communities and local authorities.
From Evidence to Action: Using Pulitzer Center Rainforest Investigations to Catalyze Community Forest Governance Around Mount Cameroon and Etinde
Name of organization: Sustainable Development Initiatives (SUDEVIN)
Location: Cameroon
Project description: In partnership with the Forestry, Agriculture, Animal, and Fishery Network (FAAFNET), the project will bring evidence-based information on the systemic drivers of deforestation in the Mount Cameroon forest ecosystem. The area is currently dealing with an increase in agricultural expansion, logging, and infrastructure development. Farmers, communities, and local authorities will engage on those topics in workshops, multi-stakeholder dialogues, and radio broadcasts inspired by the stories "Cameroon’s Undeterred Illegal Loggers."
Creating Awareness on Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) Among the Indigenous Maasai Community Affected by Geothermal Development in Suswa Community
Name of organization: Indigenous Peoples Forum CBO
Location: Suswa, Kenya
Project description: The project will address the lack of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in decisions concerning land, grazing areas, water resources, livelihoods and culture, which has been exacerbated by the establishment of the Geothermal Development Company (GDC). The GDC is a government organization undertaking geothermal exploration on Indigenous ancestral land. The stories "Kenya’s Growing Carbon Market Is a Setback for Indigenous Land Rights" and "Cows, Carbon, and Conflict: The Uneasy Coexistence of Climate Projects and Community Rights in Northern Kenya" will be used as learning and advocacy resources in community sensitization and capacity-building activities. These activities aim to improve the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples' (IP) rights and encourage their participation in decision-making processes and engagement with government agencies and development actors. Maasai communities and local decision-makers will be actively involved in adapted capacity-building and forums to promote collaboration and the ability to exercise FPIC in the protection of culture, economy, and biodiversity.
VOIX–OR–FORÊT (VOFOR) : Voix de Femmes des Communautés Forestières pour Transformer les Reportages d’Investigation en Action face aux Impacts de l’Exploitation Aurifère sur les Forêts
Name of organization: Green Girls Platform Burundi (GGPB)
Location: Burundi
Project description: The project aims to address the pressures faced by residents living near Kibira National Park—which include deforestation, soil degradation, and the impact on waterways caused by artisanal gold mining—by focusing on how these issues affect women in these communities. The goal is to raise awareness and empower communities to take action on these challenges. The activities will use the story "Congo : Un programme REDD+ grignoté par de nombreuses mines d’or" and the project La Sangha et la forêt de la Likouala : Entre crédits carbone et orpaillage illégal as educational and discussion tools to strengthen their knowledge and ground the debate, with the goal of inspiring community action.
Jeunes engagés pour le climat et l’avenir du travail aux Comores
Name of organization: Club des Amis pour la Paix Durable en Afrique (CAP D'AFRIQUE)
Location: Comoros
Project description: The overexploitation of fishery resources, illegal or unsustainable fishing, pollution, and the degradation of marine habitat are undermining the livelihoods of communities and jeopardizing the future availability of Comorian resources. This project aims to improve the knowledge of young people and coastal communities about the ocean and its fishery resources in order to encourage civic participation in local initiatives to protect the marine environment. The project Plundered Oceans: The Global Hunt for Illegal Fishing Trawlers will serve as essential tools for raising awareness, fostering dialogue, and mobilizing action to strengthen the capacity of youth and community stakeholders to become agents of change within their families, groups, and communities.
Coastal Voices for Climate Action: Using Pulitzer Center Journalism to Strengthen Community Awareness, Youth, and Women Leadership for Ocean and Mangrove Protection in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Name of organization: Global Leadership Initiatives for Education, Health, and Social Development (GLIEHSD)
Location: Nigeria
Project description: The project is seeking to improve the knowledge of women involved in fish processing and trading and young people dependent on coastal livelihoods by using the reporting project The Deadly Crisis Facing Nigeria’s Coastal Poor as an evidence-based entry point for understanding the intersection between environmental challenges and their impacts on humans. To do so, the project will host community learning sessions, women and youth dialogues, participatory community environmental action labs, creative youth awareness activities, and a multi-stakeholder community dialogue. Coastal women and youth in Akwa Ibom State coastal communities depend on fishing, mangroves, and wetlands for livelihoods and food security, and this project will equip them to fight environmental degradation, pollution, changing weather patterns, and declining aquatic resources.
Rustenburg Climate and Livelihoods Dialogue
Name of organization: Civic Root Advocacy
Location: South Africa
Project description: The project tackles the issues of adapted skills in energy transition among coal mine workers in Rustenberg, South Africa, as the country transitions to a low-carbon economy. The story "Mind the (Green Skills) Gap" will be used as a practical community learning resource and will inform discussion among mining workers and dependent communities.
LATIN AMERICA
Observatório Ambiental Escolar Caiçara: Narrativas de resistência e cuidado com o território
Name of organization: Instituto Federal do Paraná - Fórum dos povos e comunidades tradicionais de Paranaguá (Sara Regina Sampaio de Pontes)
Location: Paraná state, Brazil
Project description: The project expands the "Observatório Ambiental Escolar Caiçara" program across 16 schools in the Paraná coastline to empower youth through citizen science, local knowledge, and critical environmental education regarding water quality and microplastics. It uses reporting by the Pulitzer Center to spark pedagogical workshops and community communication.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"There's Almost No Research on Health Impact of Plastic Chemicals in Global South"
"The 'Dirty Secret' of Alternative Plastics"
Yurumanguí: Somos el territorio que protegemos
Name of organization: Consejo Comunitario de la Cuenca del Río Yurumanguí (Mary Cruz Rentería Mina)
Location: Buenaventura, Colombia
Project description: A mobilization and collective action project by 14 Black communities of the Yurumanguí River basin to confront and evict unauthorized outsiders illegally cutting down protected mangroves.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
Sea Country: Australia's Indigenous Rangers on the Front Line
"Denis Watched His Ancestral Lands Be Ravaged as a Kid. It Sparked Major Change."
"Torres Straits' First Land and Sea Conference Weaves Culture, Science"
Espejos del mar que aún nos queda
Name of organization: Ventanas Rotas (Miguel Ángel Cocom Mayén)
Location: Costas de Yucatán, Mexico
Project description: A 40-minute performance-journalism experience combining stand-up, testimonies, data, poetry, and audiovisual resources to foster community dialogue on ocean health, climate change, and marine governance in Yucatán.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
Sea Country: Australia's Indigenous Rangers on the Front Line
The Fisherwomen 'Catch' Equality
"How Changing Weather Is Reshaping Life for a Nigerian Fishing Community"
¿Cómo habitar la calor?
Name of organization: Independiente (Josefina González Patricio)
Location: Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico
Project description: A project focused on mapping public transport drivers in Zihuatanejo, conducting focus groups and providing participatory workshops and digital guides via WhatsApp to help workers protect themselves against extreme heat and climate-induced occupational stress.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Ferrymen: South Africa's Taxi Drivers Face Deadly Heat on the Job"
#Hablemos De Justicia Climática: Periodismo, redes comunitarias y veeduría territorial desde el Sur Global
Name of organization: Mutante (Estephannía Herrera Esquivel)
Location: Bogotá, Amazonía y Llanos Orientales, Colombia
Project description: A digital conversation project using social conversation methodologies to translate complex journalistic evidence regarding green capitalism and financial markets into an accessible dialogue for young territorial defenders.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Financial Market and Farmers Keep Indigenous Communities Out of Their Own Land"
O.C.E.A.N.O.S.
Name of organization: Plogging Colombia (Viviana Saavedra Garzón)
Location: Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Project description: An experiential environmental education project combining plogging cleanups, brand audits of single-use plastics, community dialogues, and an English club session with international organizations to challenge false sustainability solutions and tackle plastic pollution.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Companies Are Trying to Offset Their Plastic Waste. Some Experts Are Skeptical."
"The 'Dirty Secret' of Alternative Plastics"
"Countries May Be Getting One Step Closer to Actually Tackling Plastic Pollution"
"There's Almost No Research on the Health Impact of Plastic Chemicals in Global South"
As Entranhas do Agro
Name of organization: Indica (Francisco de Figueiredo Monteiro)
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Project description: A digital awareness campaign aimed at youth aged 16 to 30, producing a collective manifesto and a five-episode vertical video series ("Entranhas do Agro") to democratize academic data and journalistic findings regarding agribusiness deforestation and environmental denialism.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Pressure From Agricultural Sector Alters Brazilian Schoolbook Content, Publishers Claim"
"Lobby do agro usa governo de SP como vitrine de projeto de interferência na educação"
"Misinformation Masks Livestock Farming’s Impact in the Amazon Rainforest"
"Para JBS's Supply Chain Includes Land Grabbers in Agrarian Reform"
"Nestlé compra colágeno de gado criado em áreas desmatadas no Brasil"
El otro extremo del río: la cadena del oro leída en la ribera del Jatunyacu
Name of organization: Medio nativo digital Casa de nadie (Antony Fabricio Lobaton Delgadillo)
Location: Tena, Napo, Ecuador
Project description: A series of community reading assemblies, mapping exercises, and radio broadcasts with Kichwa riverside communities along the Jatunyacu and Napo rivers to build a critical understanding of the gold supply chain and mercury contamination.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Ecuador: Booming Profits in Small-Scale Gold Mining Reveal Tainted Industry"
"How Bolivia's Gold Rush is Poisoning Indigenous Communities"
Guardianes del Bosque: periodismo y acción indígena para fortalecer la gobernanza territorial de las ECAS Ñukanchipa Sumak Sacha y SIEKO PAI
Name of organization: Asociación Nacional de los Ejecutores de Contratos de Administración de las Reservas Comunales del Perú - ANECAP (Walter Oscanoa Osuquibamaba)
Location: Peruvian Amazon (territories linked to ECAs Ñukanchipa Sumak Sacha and SIEKO PAI)
Project description: An intercultural initiative combining investigative journalism with indigenous governance workshops to analyze forestry threats, share community experiences, and formulate an Inter-ECA Agenda for Forest Governance and Action.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"As Traditional Forest Governance Erodes in Peru, 'Ghost Permits' Fill the Vacuum"
"Time Is Water: How Indigenous Leaders Are Fighting To Save the Amazon"
As águas do velho Chico em disputa: trabalhadores e comunidades tradicionais e a expansão dos data centers em Sergipe
Name of organization: IP.rec - Instituto de Pesquisa em Direito e Tecnologia do Recife (André Lucas Fernandes)
Location: Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Project description: A participatory training workshop with traditional riverside populations and fishers in Sergipe to address the massive water and energy consumption threats posed by incoming hyper-scale data centers relying on the São Francisco River.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting link:
"Data Centers Threaten To Change Small Texas County. Local Officials Say They Have No Power To Stop Them"
Maritorio vivo: voces de Buenaventura para defender la vida del océano
Name of organization: Colectivo Kwanzaa (Oriana Lorena Lerma Torres)
Location: Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Project description: A community laboratory running exchanges, community cartography, and a public dialogue to connect global coastal crisis reports with the local ecological knowledge of Afro-descendant communities in Buenaventura.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting link:
Yemen's Vanishing Sardines: Illegal Fishmeal Factories and the Collapse of Coastal Livelihoods
"Blood on the Sardines: Yemen's Reserves Plundered Across the Borders"
The Unfortunate Fishes of Nigeria
"Investigation: Deadly Attacks at Sea Push Nigeria's Fishers, Traders to the Brink"
El impacto de la mineria- mercurio, inundaciones e incendios sobre la degradación de ecosistemas amazónicos de la Comunidad Indigena Ese Ejja de Puerto Salinas- Reyes Beni Bolivia
Name of organization: Comunidad Indígena Ese Ejja (Erick Fabio Altamirano Sarzuri)
Location: Río Beni, Municipio Reyes, Departamento Beni, Bolivia
Project description: A technical and legal documentation project to assess the cumulative impact of mercury pollution, forest fires, and floods on the Ese Ejja community of Puerto Salinas, building community-led monitoring and generating evidence for state and international legal advocacy.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting link:
"Bolivia Senate Demands Report From President on Esse Ejja Indigenous People of Eyiyoquibo"
"Confined and Without Territory: Bolivia Pushing Indigenous Ese Ejja People to Extinction"
"Struggle of the Ese Ejja of Eyiyoquibo to Return to Their 'Big House' (Video)"
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Voices of Belemsi: Listening to Island Communities in Buli Bay
Name of organization: Salawaku Institute and Sekolah Pesisir Perempuan Halmahera
Location: North Maluku, Indonesia
Project description: ‘Voices of Belemsi’ is a community engagement project to document the experiences and local knowledge of coastal communities on Belemsi Island, North Maluku, Indonesia, as they navigate the social and environmental changes affecting their lives. The project will organize a series of listening sessions and discussions with fisherfolks, women, and young people to reflect on changes in coastal livelihoods and identify community concerns, strengths, and aspirations. Through a participatory approach, stories will be documented through written accounts, photography, and video, and shared among civil society networks. The project aims to amplify the perspectives of small-island communities in public discussions about the future of their coastal territories.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Indonesia: The Last Fisherwomen of Halmahera?"
Susurang Esse: Coastal Women's Stories of Food, Culture, and Climate Crisis
Location: Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
Name of organization: Komunitas Kahe
Project description: ‘Susurang Esse’ is a community engagement project uplifting the experiences and knowledge of women in Wuring Village, Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara as they navigate the impacts of climate change on local food systems, livelihoods, and coastal traditions. Komunitas Kahe will facilitate community gatherings through collective cooking, shared meals, storytelling, and discussions about traditional knowledge and intergenerational practices of care. These stories and insights will be brought to the Sadang Bui Unconference through creative archival activities and discussions involving young people and creative economy practitioners. The project aims to deepen public understanding of the social and ecological impacts of climate change while fostering dialogue and collaboration to sustain local knowledge and coastal livelihoods.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Colonial Legacy Behind the Marginalization of Local Food Culture (bahasa Indonesia)"
"Women as Guardians of the Sea: The Unspoken Role in Sasi Wondama"
Who Benefits From Merauke’s Sugar Frontier?
Location: Merauke, Indonesia
Organization: Perkumpulan Sophia Nusantara
Project Description: ‘Who Benefits from Merauke’s Sugar Frontier?’ is participatory study examining the expansion of sugarcane plantations in Merauke and its impacts on forests, Indigenous land rights, and community livelihoods. Using Pulitzer Center-supported reporting as one of the resources for discussion, the project will facilitate knowledge-sharing with local communities to identify their common needs and collaboratively develop a land-to-value map.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Hungry People at Merauke Food Estate"
Vanishing Shores, Enduring Voice
Location: Johor, Malaysia
Name of Organization: EcoKembara
Project Description: Inspired by RIN Fellow Yao-Hua Law's reporting, “Deforestation Adds to Decades of Indigenous Land Rights Struggle in Malaysia,” the project will use journalism as a key source for community learning, documentation, and public dialogue. The project will culminate in a public exhibition and dialogue, bringing the Indigenous Orang Seletar voices and community generated evidence into wider discussions about the future of the Indigenous community, to ensure that the Orang Seletar are not merely subjects of stories about development, but active storytellers and informed participants in conversations affecting their future.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
Pahang Deforestation Adds to Decades of Indigenous Land Rights Struggle in Malaysia
Mentawai Youth Defending their Forest and Land
Location: Mentawai Islands and Padang City, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Name of organization: Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI) Padang
Project description: This project amplifies the ongoing efforts of Mentawai youth and Indigenous communities to defend their lands and livelihoods, while promoting forest governance through the lens of ecological justice. Drawing on Pulitzer Center-supported reporting, the project will produce podcasts, launch a digital campaign, and organize a public dialogue in Padang, West Sumatra. By engaging a network of citizen journalists trained by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Padang, the project aims to strengthen Indigenous communities’ awareness of their rights and foster dialogue on protecting the forest, water sources, mitigating hydrometeorological disaster risks, and securing recognition and protection of Mentawai community lands and living spaces.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
Logging Permits in the Mentawai Islands: Forest Theft and Fraud Against Indigenous Peoples
Tracing the Expansion and Risks of the Petrochemical Industry
Location: Bali and Jakarta, Indonesia
Name of organization: Nexus3 Foundation
Project description: Inspired by Beth Gardiner’s reporting, “The Fossil-Fuel Industry Has a Plan To Drown Earth in Plastic,” for which Nexus3 was consulted for the reporting part in Indonesia, Nexus3 will produce a country situation report examining the expansion of the petrochemical industry and plastic production, including their links to emissions, hazardous chemicals, occupational health and safety, and impacts on workers and communities. The findings from the reporting will be combined with data and information to inform a multi-stakeholder workshop. This initiative aims to identify information gaps and foster dialogue highlighting the connections between the petrochemical industry, the energy transition, the climate crisis, and the health of workers and affected communities.
No Safe Place To Breathe
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Name of organization: Ti Tang Media for Stateless People
Project description: ‘No Safe Place To Breathe' brings climate and labor topics into conversations with migrant construction workers in Chiang Mai, whose experiences have received less attention in discussions about air pollution and climate-related labor risks. Through community dialogues, worker stories, and digital content in Thai and Shan language, the project aims to make visible how environmental risks are experienced differently according to working and living conditions. A final public dialogue will connect participating workers with labor and civil society actors in Chiang Mai.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"The Fossil-Fuel Industry Has a Plan To Drown Earth in Plastic"
The Cost: Climate, Exploitation, Exodus, and Labor for Burma’s Future
Location: Virtual and Myanmar
Name of organization: The Calling Digest, Myanmar
Project description: This is a civic learning project that uses climate and labor journalism to engage Myanmar youth, women, workers, and community educators. Anchored in journalistic stories from Indonesia, India, and Nigeria, the project will organize circles of dialogues where participants will read Burmese-English summaries, discuss key issues, and connect them to Myanmar and border-community realities. Participants will turn their reflections into poetry and writings, which will be shared through a digital campaign. The project aims to strengthen participants’ understanding of these interconnected issues and equip them with accessible resources and creative tools to facilitate further conversations in their communities.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
Bridging the Climate Information Gap for Sokoto’s Rice Farmers
Impact of Changing Climate on Incomes, Labour, and Migration in India
Student Voices From the Kerinci Seblat National Park Landscape
Location: Kerinci, Jambi, Indonesia
Name of organization: Yayasan Berang-Berang Indonesia
Project description: This student-focused project aims to strengthen university and high school students’ critical thinking around the impacts of illegal gold mining on ecosystems and local communities. Drawing on a series of Pulitzer Center-supported reports, the project will engage university students from UIN Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi and high school students in Bathin III Ulu District in environmental education activities to deepen their understanding of the impacts of mining on rivers, otter and biodiversity, health, and community livelihoods.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
Illegal Gold Mining in Kerinci Seblat National Park
When the Forecast Does Not Reach the Farm: Climate Information Lab
Location: Thailand
Name of Organization: Media for Change
Project description: The project will use the story “Bridging the Climate Information Gap for Sokoto’s Rice Farmers” by Abdulahi Muritala as its central learning resource for workshops with farmer community and local stakeholders. Participants will explore how different sectors can support the farmer community's needs in climate-related forecast and resilience. A Thai-language discussion guide based on the reporting will be developed, using its key findings to initiate conversations about climate information, community needs, and the importance of collaboration.
Akar Piringmu (The Roots of Your Plate)
Location: Virtual and Bandung City, West Java, Indonesia
Name of Organization: Kenapa Harus Peduli
Project Description: 'The Roots of Your Plate' invites urban youth to reflect on the food they eat with systemic issues affecting forests and the communities that protect them. Kenapa Harus Peduli will engage younger audience through digital content featuring interviews with communities and individuals knowledgeable about food and forests, and an open call for young people to submit reflective writing. These written accounts and campaign materials will be curated into a zine, culminating in a zine exhibition and local food tasting event in Bandung. The project aims to foster an understanding that communities should not lose their food sources to serve the interests of a select few.
Pulitzer Center-supported reporting:
"Scars in the Forest of Hope: The Story of Kubu Lalan’s Struggle for Living Space (bahasa Indonesia)"