TERMS OF REFERENCE

Hedayah is the International Centre of Excellence for Countering Extremism and Violent Extremism, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Formed in response to the call by the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF), representing 31 countries and the European Union, to establish an independent, multilateral ‘think and do’ tank devoted to supporting global efforts in countering extremism and preventing terrorism through the sharing of good practice, research, toolkits, communications, dialogue, training, workshops, and policy discussions. The vision and purpose of Hedayah is to see a global reduction in extremism and violent extremism. This is achieved through programs, research, resources, and advice that equip governments and civil society to design, implement, and monitor effective and sustainable approaches to terrorism prevention. For more information, visit https://hedayah.com/

With the support of the European Union’s STRIVE II program, Hedayah aims to empower Uzbekistan religious leaders with strategic communication skills to counter extremist and violent extremist narratives. One 3-day in person workshop and eight (8) online sessions, one (1) day duration each session (8 sessions in 8 days), will be conducted to train these leaders in developing effective positive, alternative and/or counter-messaging campaigns, guided by Hedayah’s existing manual “How-To Guide” (an example of this guide only for reference on the content can be found here). The workshop content will be tailored by the production service provider in collaboration with Hedayah’s staff to fit the Uzbekistan context and include global examples relevant to the audience.

Hedayah is looking to hire a service provider (production agency or a team of producers/ photography/videography)- to support Hedayah’s activity in Uzbekistan including the training and mentorship of religious leaders and the design, creative direction and video production of maximum four (4) short videos.

The Service provider can be an agency or an individual agent.

The detailed services are elaborated in Section 4: Scope of Work and Services.

• Conducting a three (3)-day hands-on workshop on content creation/storytelling, impactful messaging, script writing photography and videography. This will encompass, but is not limited to, filmmaking, photography, videography, and video editing techniques, including shooting and editing strategies, optimizing the use of smartphone cameras, and best practices for pre-production, production, and post-production.
  During this workshop the service provider will guide the religious leaders on content creation basic technical skills, as well as guide them on defining and developing the content of their messages/campaigns.
  All workshop logistics will be arranged and financially covered by Hedayah (Workshop location: Uzbekistan, to be confirmed if in Tashkent or Samarkand).
• Conducting eight online mentorship sessions, one (1) day duration each session (8 sessions in 8 days), with the religious leaders and leading in refining and finalizing campaign stories and scripts developed by the previous workshop participants in preparation for final production.
• Guide and mentor participants step by step in the production and editing phase of their own content and campaigns to ensure a learning by doing approach. This, includes but not limited to:
  • Refinement of the general concept of the video(s).
  • Development and refinement of the detailed scenarios of the videos.
  • Coordination and approval of the scenarios with the participants and Hedayah.
  • Video production (types of content: short-form videos, short human-interest video stories, podcast, etc.).
• Video filming and shooting and producing up to four video campaigns (each video’s duration 3-5 minutes) after the workshop in person and mentorship sessions, incorporating Hedayah and religious leaders’ feedback and finalized scripts, to include but not limited to:
  • Post-production (assembly, sound, processing, etc.)
  • Uzbek/English voice titration or subtitles – on an as-needed basis.
  • Provision of rough-cut videos of the four videos for Hedayah’s and Uzbek partners’ review.
  • Delivery of the final video in different formats (for TV, Web, social media, etc.) after incorporating Hedayah’s comments.
• Attending the campaigns launch event (half day) that will be organized by Hedayah before the video/campaigns goes on air, to support the presentation of the video campaigns and explain the process of design and production. Location: Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The selected service provider will play a crucial role throughout the project, from the workshop to the final campaign launch, requiring strong experience in production, particularly within the Uzbekistan context.

Deliverables and delivery timeline:

The Service Provider’s shall be responsible for delivering the following

• Provide three (3) days of practical in person training for 25 religious leaders in storytelling, impactful messaging, script writing, photography and videography. This includes developing PPTs in English and Uzbek (up to 8 PPTs) on how to write a script, define a scenario, write a shooting plan, film and how to edit, etc. for each religious leaders group’s message and/or video in preparation of production that includes hands-on training on content creation to include but not limited to: film-making, photography, videography, and video editing, shooting and editing techniques and optimizing the use of smartphone cameras, pre-during and post-production of message(s).
• Provide eight (8) online mentorship sessions, one (1) day duration each session (8 sessions in 8 days), to religious leaders that participate to the previous in person workshop and work with them to design and produce up to four (4) video campaigns post-workshop, potentially including animated videos. Involve the workshop participants in the production, post-production and editing phase to create the campaigns to ensure a learning-by-doing approach.
• Produce four (4) main videos with subtitles in English.
• Fully adapt the four (4) main videos to fit different formats and platforms dissemination: TV, Social Media, Digital/Web. The adaptation will happen in coordination and approval from Hedayah.

1. Provide three (3) days of in person practical training in storytelling, impactful messaging, script writing photography and videography.
   • Provide hands-on training to the participants on storytelling, impactful messaging, script writing photography and videography skills.
   • Refine their stories, messages, ideas and scripts for their campaigns in Uzbek and English
   • Targeted Delivery timeline : March- April 2026
2. Provide eight (8) online mentorship sessions, one day duration each session (8 sessions in 8 days), for the religious leaders to produce up to four (4) video campaigns post-training, potentially including animated videos. Involve the training participants in the production, post-production and editing phase to create the campaigns to ensure a learning by doing approach. This includes:
   • Refinement of the general concept of the video(s).
   • Development and refinement of the detailed scenarios/script of the videos.
   • Coordination and approval of the scenarios/script with Hedayah.
   • Targeted Delivery timeline : April- June 2026
3. Four (4) videos produced with subtitles in English and fully adapt the four (4) main videos to fit different formats and platforms dissemination: TV, Social Media, Digital/Web. The adaptation will happen in coordination and approval from Hedayah. This includes:
   • Video shooting/filming and production (types of content: short-form videos, mini-documentary, short journalistic reports, short human-interest video stories, animated video, etc.)
   • Uzbek voice titration and subtitles in English – on an as-needed basis.
   • Post-production (assembly, sound, processing, etc.).
   • Provision of rough-cut videos of the four videos for Hedayah’s review
   • Delivery of the final four (4) videos in different formats (for TV, Radio, Web, social media, etc.) after incorporating Hedayah’s comments.
   • Targeted Delivery timeline : July 2026

a) Qualifications & Experience:
The selected Service Provider should fulfill the following requirements:

• At least five years of experience in campaigning/photography/videography/video editing, experience of editing using professional tools
• Demonstrate experience of conception, production, and editing of mini video documentaries and animated videos.
• Experience in covering social, humanitarian, and development subjects will be an asset.
• Experience with Uzbek public institutions and INGOs will be an asset; and
• Knowledge of ethical standards in reporting on issues related to Extremism & Violent Extremism will be an asset.

b) Reporting:

The selected service provider/agency will maintain regular communication with the Hedayah team for guidance, feedback, and coordination to ensure the successful execution of all the responsibilities and deliverables.

For a proposal to be considered as comprehensive and to meet Hedayah’s requirements; each bidder shall submit a proposal that includes the following sections:

1. Detailed technical proposal includes the following:
   • Short profile, including CV of photography/videography-related studies, references.
   • Legal documents of the company or ID for individuals.
   • Detailed individual portfolio (web links to produced videos) showcasing a range of work (i.e. campaigns, photo-essays, interviews, documentaries, etc.).
   • Demonstrated experience in photography/videography on social issues; and
   • Production capabilities: quality video production, including related hardware and editing software.
2. Detailed financial proposal:

The Financial Proposal shall specify an all-inclusive fee of taxes per deliverable, which should include (i) adaptation of training content and training delivery -in person and online- (ii) filming charges (iii) transportation & accommodation expenses to/at (4 different regions in Uzbekistan), (iv) postproduction, (v) crediting and (vi) subtitling and voiceover (vii) adaption of four (4) main videos to fit different formats and platforms dissemination: TV, Social Media, Digital/Web. The Financial Proposal should be in euros (EUR), as per the description below:

Media Workshop and campaigns development for Religious Leaders:

1. Unit price to adapt the training content and support the delivery of the three (3) days of practical in person training in storytelling, impactful messaging, script writing photography and videography.
2. Unit price for the eight (8) mentorship sessions, one (1) day duration each session (8 sessions in 8 days), with religious leaders divided into groups.
3. Unit price for the development of up to four (4) video campaigns with a length of 3-5 min for each ensuring a learning by doing approach. (Provide the price for one video).
4. Unit price for the adaptation of four (4) main videos to fit different formats and platforms dissemination: TV, Social Media, Digital/Web.

The budget for this service must not exceed 20,000 Euro.

• Language of Proposal:
  All proposal’s sections and any supporting documents and references should be submitted in English. Any documents in different languages should be accompanied by an attested translation to English otherwise it won’t be accepted or weighted.
• Clarifications
  Any request for clarification should be sent to: procurement@hedayah.ae CC strive.admin@hedayah.ae & hend.galal@hedayah.ae no later than Monday, 2^nd of March 2026 (this has been extended from the original deadline of 27^TH February in the ToR documents). 
• Submission Deadline:
  Full proposals should be submitted by 6th March 2026, by 11:59 pm GST time to: procurement@hedayah.ae CC strive.admin@hedayah.ae & hend.galal@hedayah.ae
• Awarding Criteria:
  The contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous proposal.

Bidders are responsible for all the costs incurred in preparing their proposals. Hedayah is not obliged to reimburse any relevant costs.