Media for Informed Civic Engagement (MICE)

The goal of the five-year MICE project is to increase citizen access to independent and reliable sources of information about reforms that impact society, with an emphasis on reforms in decentralization, transparency and accountability, social sector policy, as well as about human rights. The project also creates a demand for public awareness as a necessary mechanism for participation and involvement through improved quality of journalism and media literacy.

The MICE project works with selected media outlets across the country by training them to use modern tools for fact-checking and news-verification, to conduct quality investigations, to use innovative approaches in reporting, such as data visualization and data journalism, and to develop effective multimedia products. It is expected that by enhancing the targeted media’s role as effective and multi-media watchdog platforms they will monitor and debate on performance and implementation of priority reforms. To achieve the goal these media outlets are to receive grants to produce and disseminate reform related content within the five-year period of the project.

The MICE project encourages professional and ethical reporting through the Media.am analytical website, Lradadar media critique club, “Tvapatum” annual conference and the Media Ethics Observatory.

“Tvapatum” annual journalism contest and media conference are platforms to bring together the professionals of the field to discuss challenges of traditional and new media, to evaluate the quality of journalistic content and to encourage the use of new tools and trends in media as well as new means of increasing the interaction level with the audience.

At the same time, through InfoTuns (citizen multimedia hubs in the regions) and other public information tools, the project educates citizens to become savvy media consumers and demand better quality media.

It is anticipated that the media’s independent and reliable content produced in the framework of the MICE project will help increase the citizens’ participation and impact on reform processes in the country.

The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It is jointly implemented by MIC, Eurasia Partnership Foundation and Internews (USA) in partnership with the Yerevan Press Club and the Caucasus Research Resource Center during October 2014 – March 2022.