From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin has today (19 December) together with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan, welcomed the announcement by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) of the award of €5 million to 25 radio and TV projects under the Broadcasting Fund Sound and Vision Scheme.
The awards are being made under a dedicated Climate Change and Climate Action Round of the scheme, which has been co-funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, to support new and relevant content to raise awareness of climate change and climate action.
Speaking today Minister Martin said:
“The media sector continues to have a key role in informing and educating on the impact of climate change, but also in promoting awareness and highlighting the positive actions which we can take as we strive to achieve our climate targets. The projects being announced today will provide interesting and relatable content not just on climate change, but importantly on what we can do to help stop and reverse its effects.”
The funding round follows Government’s commitment under the Climate Action Plan 2021 to provide support for the development of relevant media content, including through the independent production sector, to provide innovative ways to engage with audiences on the topic.
In welcoming the announcements, Minister Ryan added:
“I wish to congratulate the 25 broadcasters and programme makers who have been awarded this funding. These projects will deliver innovative and creative content on climate action, awareness and empowerment to homes across Ireland. We know from our Climate Dialogues throughout 2022 that people want to know more about climate change, and importantly what they can do to play their part in addressing it. Media has a powerful role to play in building climate literacy, creatively and in a way that people can relate to.”
Funded projects include documentary, entertainment and educational programming with a quarter of the projects to receive funding aimed at the 15-34 age group. Viewers will be able to engage with the joys of slow travel through Europe, or visit some of Ireland’s greenest homes.
There will also be a number of new radio projects, including over 1200 programmes over 12 months as 24 radio stations join together to educate and empower behavioural changes with locally produced content.
Details of the 25 successful projects are available on the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland website.
This round of awards has been co-funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
It is one of several funded through the Sound and Vision Broadcasting Funding Scheme, which received additional Exchequer funding of €10.5 million earlier this year, and has enabled the BAI to initiate a number of special funding rounds.
In addition to the funding round announced today, other funding rounds include:
Minister Martin also recently announced the allocation of a further €2.5 million for the independent commercial radio sector.