The British Council’s International Bursaries for Bloggers will offer three winners the chance to travel to Lagos, Romania or to a country of their choice. They will be encouraged to follow their interests. We’ll ask them to produce some work about theatre, dance or performance inspired by their visit – to be published by the British Council, by themselves, or by another publisher. The British Council expect each visit to last three to six nights (including travel). They have a budget of up to a maximum £4,000 for each bursary. Extra accessibility costs are available for d/Deaf or disabled applicants.

Deadline 

Thursday 28 November 2018 at 12:00 midday (GMT)

Apply by 28 November for the chance to travel overseas – to Nigeria, Romania or a country of your choice – and get a piece of work published

There are three different bursaries:

1.Discover a project
Visit Lagos during the Lagos Theatre Festival, with support from the British Council to organise your visit and guide you around Lagos. They will arrange meetings with the performing arts community to fit your interests. The festival programme will be confirmed closer to the time but see the application guidelines for some background on the festival. It takes place from 25 February to 3 March 2019.

2.Explore a country
Travel independently to Romania to explore the performing arts scene based on your own interests. They expect you to do some preliminary research before you apply. See the application guidelines for an introduction to the Romanian scene. The British Council will advise the winner on local intelligence and useful contacts, enabling you to create an itinerary and budget. The visit should take place in spring 2019.

3.Follow your idea
Propose your own journey, travelling overseas to pursue your interests and develop your knowledge, skills and networks. You are responsible for designing your own itinerary and budget, although the British Council will offer the winner some extra advice. The country you travel to should have a British Council office – see the list of over 100 countries that they work in. This is so that they can add value to your experience and provide you with an emergency contact. You should also avoid going to a country that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travelling to. Please check  before applying if you’re not sure. Your visit should take place before the end of March 2019.

They’ll also give winners two hours of mentoring with a judge of their choice. The judging panel brings together a diverse group of experienced, respected writers and editors. The judges are: Lyn Gardner (The Stage), Thom Dibdin (The Stage, alledinburghtheatre.com), Colin Hambrook (Disability Arts Online), Sophia Jackson (Afridiziak Theatre News), Arusa Qureshi (The List), Gary Raymond (Wales Arts Review), Sanjoy Roy (freelance critic) and Alice Saville (Exeunt).

Eligibility 

They looking for people who fit the following criteria:

• Lives in the UK.
• At least two years’ experience of blogging, writing, vlogging or podcasting about arts. This includes experience of self-publishing, producing work for student publications and contributing to online platforms for emerging writers. Applicants don’t necessarily need to have their own platform.
• Does not write regularly for a national publication.
• Has never had a single full-time job writing about arts.
• Helps the British Council achieve their aim to give a platform to voices from groups under-represented in UK arts and media.
• Able to create different kinds of content and to share their experiences with a range of audiences in a range of different ways.

https://theatreanddance.britishcouncil.org/blog/2018/bloggersbursary?utm_source=social&utm_medium=british_arts&utm_campaign=bloggers_bursary