Background
Timor-Leste, as a small island developing state (SIDS) and least developed country (LDC), is highly vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19. So far, there have been only up to twenty-four confirmed cases of COVID-19, which have all recovered (as of May 31st). However, since testing capabilities are limited, the extent of infection transmission among the general population is not known. On 27 March, 2020, by Government Decree, a state of emergency was declared, which imposed broad restrictions in the movement of people and goods, stricter procedures of quarantine/isolation for people returning from abroad or suspected cases, cancellation of commercial flights essentially sealing off the borders, and improved preparedness/response measures. The state of emergency has been renewed for the second time on May 27th and for a third month, until June 26th. The government put together a special stimulus package to scale up the provision of COVID-related health equipment and isolation and treatment facilities, as well as socio-economic measures directed towards protecting vulnerable citizens, concessions and support to the private sector and laborers, etc.
The National Parliament of Timor-Leste, in accordance with its legislative, oversight and representative competencies attributed by the Constitution, has a critical role to play to safeguard the rights and interests of Timorese people at all stages of the crisis. Regarding the last competency, since the beginning of the emergency, the institution has increased its efforts in developing and disseminating efficient and transparent communication to inform citizens, especially the most vulnerable groups, on COVID-19 developments. It notably produced and disseminated short videos on the crisis, featuring Members of Parliaments[1].
Building on these recent efforts, the newly appointed President of Parliament, Aniceto Guterres Lopes, has requested support from UNDP Justice Sector Reform project to develop “Canal do Parlamento”, a weekly 30-minute programme on Parliamentary activities and on civic education to be broadcasted on national television. This initiative would ensure the institution gets closer to the citizens it represents, thus fulfilling its mandate as attributed by the Constitution. In doing so, the project would contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, more specifically SDG 16 on Peaceful and Inclusive Societies.
The Justice Sector Reform project is best positioned to support the National Parliament of Timor-Leste in implementing the abovementioned initiative since the project is the privileged interlocutor of this institution. Indeed, the project has been supporting the Parliament with the Justice Sector Reform, and more recently with its response to the COVID-19 crisis. To this effect, the project is notably currently developing, in collaboration with this national institution, a 20-episode outreach campaign on civic education. Both initiatives are complementary and will be best implemented if performed by the same implementing entity.
The National Parliament of Timor-Leste, in accordance with its legislative, oversight and representative competencies attributed by the Constitution, has a critical role to play to safeguard the rights and interests of Timorese people at all stages of the crisis. This institution passed, on April 6th, 2020, a resolution on measures to prevent and fight against COVID-19 as well as to recover from the socio-economic impacts of the crisis and to monitor the government’s execution of the state of emergency. The Parliament identified several key areas of intervention in which to develop policies, approve legislation and monitor government law-making and actions.
[1] For example, one video explained what the state of emergency entailed for citizens.
Duties and Responsibilities
The assignment will produce the entirety of the TV civic education programme and will be delivered in 3 phases:
Phase One of the assignment involves the development of a general concept note for the TV Programme. This note will provide the framework to produce the civic education outreach campaign, ensuring its objectives, expected outcomes and timeline are clear and achievable. It will also serve as a common thread to produce all twenty episodes.
Phase Two of the assignment is about the production of the episodes. For each episode, the selected consultant will need to follow the four steps as identified in section E. These will ensure all episodes fit into the bigger framework of the TV Programme (as spelled out in the general concept note) and contribute to the achievement of its identified objectives and expected outcomes. The consultant will be responsible for the successful production of the episodes, from the initial stages, such as contacting participants and preparing the logistics for the shooting, to the final stages, such as the editing of the episodes, ensuring the delivered products are ready for broadcasting.
Each episode is expected to follow a short format (2 to 3 minutes long) and to feature Members of Parliament as main protagonists. The identified Parliamentarians will present in the official languages (with subtitles in Tetum and Portuguese) the topic of the episode, following a script written by the consultant.
Below is the full list of the topics to be addressed in the TV Programme:
- National Parliament (role, mandate and its agents)
- Other Sovereign organs
- Rights and Liberties (CRDTL + what changes with the State of Emergency)
- Democracy – Principles + guarantees (Timor-Leste in the democracy indexes)
- Rule of Law
- Defence and Security in a Democratic State
- Financial literacy – household budget management
- Infrastructures, urban planning and natural disasters
- Climate change and creating resilient societies
- Pollution – plastic zero, etc.
- AIDS
- Domestic violence
- Social protection – Minorities and vulnerable groups
- Gender equality
- Portuguese language and Tetum
- Development Partners in TL
- Tradition, culture and heritage
- Entrepreneurship and the private sector
- Media and fake news
- Decentralization
Phase Three of the assignment is about assisting the National Parliament in planning the establishment of a National Parliament TV channel, especially by drafting a concept note on how to set up a TV channel and how to produce television content regularly. This phase will also include training sessions for Parliament staff on filming and editing. The sessions will be on the job when filming and producing the episodes on phase two and also through formal training sessions.
The expected outputs and deliverables are outlined in the below table:
Deliverables/Outputs
|
Estimated Duration to Complete And Target Due Dates |
Breakdown of the Payment |
Review and Approvals Required (Indicate designation of person who will review output and confirm acceptance) Review Time Required |
Output 1: General concept note for the civic education TV programme submitted and approved by UNDP.
Up to 6 days home-based, with any clarifications or changes, as necessary. | Estimated Period: 15 June – 21 June
Due date: 21 June
| 20% upon approval of the concept note | UNDP Parliament CTA |
Output 2: Individual concept notes for the ten first episodes submitted and approved by UNDP; 10 episodes ready-for-broadcasting finalized, submitted and approved by UNDP.
Up to 27 days with any follow-up for clarifications or changes, as necessary. | Estimated Period: 22 June – 22 July
Due date: 22 July
| 40% upon approval of the 10 episodes | UNDP Parliament CTA
|
Output 3: Individual concept notes for the ten last episodes submitted and approved by UNDP; 10 episodes ready-for-broadcasting finalized, submitted and approved by UNDP.
Up to 27 days with any follow-up for clarifications or changes, as necessary. | Estimated Period: 23 July – 23 August
Due date: 23 August | 20% upon final approval of the 10 episodes | UNDP Parliament CTA |
Output 4: General concept note on establishing a National Parliament TV channel.
| Estimated Period: 23 August – 30 September
Due date: 30 September | 20% upon approval of the concept note | UNDP Parliament CTA |
Competencies
Professional Experience:
- At least 10 years of professional experience producing TV programmes;
- At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in the sector of international development;
- Demonstrated expertise in producing TV programmes for civic education that are able to influence the targeted audience;
- Demonstrated media coverage on such produced programmes;
- Verified practice on developing, organising, coordinating and producing high quality TV programmes, preferably for UN agencies, development partners, governments and/or civil society organisations;
- Experience in being part of a team to setting up a TV station
- Country experience in Timor-Leste is a must.
Functional/Technical Knowledge:
- Excellent video shooting and editing skills, with proven proficiency in the use of editing software such as Premiere, FCPX, or similar;
- Ability to work independently as well as good team player;
- Excellent time management and ability to produce outputs as per agreed deadlines;
- Country experience in Timor-Leste.
Required Skills and Experience
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills in Portuguese and Tetum, including editing;
- Good working knowledge of English (written and spoken) is desirable;