Nepali Accountapreneur Rajneesh Bhandari received a generous grant from Open Society Foundations’ Youth Action Fund for a project to build a network of investigative journalists to fight corruption in Nepal. The objective of the project, “A call to accountability: Voices of corruption fighters in Nepal,” is to use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to investigate, produce and promote five multimedia stories on corruption in various sectors in Nepal. These stories aim not only to inspire people, but also to provide them with the information they need to join the fight against corruption.

Rajneesh will partner with the Accountability Lab to carry this project in Nepal, utilizing many of the Lab’s innovative accountability tools. The journalists will use the RTI Toolkit to effectively request information from the government; Mai Dalal to disseminate the investigative reports and stories; and Bolaun (Speak Up) to facilitate further discussion with anti-corruption activists on the issues presented in the stories and to brainstorm solutions which will then be forwarded to the relevant authorities to encourage an engaged response. At the completion of the grant cycle,

Rajneesh will continue to work through RuralTV Nepal to use multimedia to highlight anti-corruption work throughout Nepal. Rajneesh Bhandari is an award-winning investigative multimedia journalist, working as a freelance reporter for various international media, Founding Director and Multimedia Editor for Rural Television Network Nepal, and Coordinator for New Media Gufa.

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