1. ABOUT BSF
BSF is an international non-governmental organization. Since 2007, BSF has been providing access to education, information, and culture to those deprived of them in over 30 countries. Through the development of innovative mobile tools (ldeas Box, ldeas Cube, Kajou cards), the selection of customized content, and the training and support of field workers, BSF aims to enable everyone, in all circumstances, to live with dignity through better access to knowledge.
2. CONTEXT OF THE CONSULTANCY
As part of the “Resilience and Empowerment through Social Cohesion and Inclusion for Sustainable Prosperity” project, implemented in the Ouaddaï region of eastern Chad, BSF is working alongside NRC, Al Barka and CRASH to strengthen the resilience of young Sudanese refugees and host communities around the Allacha, Metché and Arkoum camps.
This project focuses on strengthening community leadership, vocational training for young people (15-25 years old), psychosocial support, educational support, legal and judicial support in order to provide project beneficiaries with the skills and resources necessary to make the transition to sustainable livelihoods in a context of lasting crisis.
In this context, BSF is contributing its expertise in creating educational and cultural spaces through the Ideas Box and tailored content. The project aims to install three Ideas Boxes in vocational training centers for young people. To ensure high-quality cultural mediation rooted in the linguistic, cultural, and social realities of the target audiences, BSF is seeking to hire a consultant to select relevant, accessible, and engaging content in Sudanese and Chadian Arabic.
A needs assessment was conducted by the BSF teams between May and June to clarify what the beneficiaries would like to see in the Ideas Box and associated activities. The main objective of the content selection is to provide documentation and support for the professional training that will be provided to young people by the project’s partner organizations. These include baking, solar panel repair, sewing, etc. Social cohesion, education, and recreational activity objectives were also identified and will be an integral part of the selection. The overall aim is to support all project activities via the Ideas Box space. The precise results of the needs assessment and the associated documentation strategy will be shared with the selected service provider to guide their consultancy mission. This selection will therefore contribute to enriching the physical (Ideas Box) and digital (Ideas Cube) libraries that will be deployed from November 2025 on the project’s implementation sites.
3. OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY
The mission is part of BSF’s content selection strategy for the implementation of its project in Chad with Sudanese refugees and Chadian host communities. Its main objectives will be:
- Identification and selection of digital content (video, podcast, PDF, etc.) in Sudanese and/or Chadian Arabic;
- Integration of this content into the Ideas Cube server via the BSF internal platform;
- Identification and selection of physical content (books and board games) in literal Arabic.
The lists of identified content must be in line with the cultural mediation objectives of the documentary strategy resulting from the needs diagnosis.
4. METHODOLOGY OF WORK
The service provider will be responsible for the following tasks:
- Development of a documentary research methodology (databases – including the internal BSF catalog, local publishers, educational platforms, online libraries, etc.) and identification of suppliers delivering to French territory.
- Prospecting, analysis and selection of content, taking into account criteria of usefulness, accessibility, linguistic, cultural and educational relevance.
- Production of two lists: one for digital content such as videos, audios, applications or software (in Excel format according to the BSF model), one for physical content (books, games and educational materials).
- Uploading and organizing digital files into a structured folder.
- Drafting of a summary presentation document of the selection, explaining the choices made (by type of content, target audience, source, format, etc.).
- Regular exchanges with the BSF team (1 to 2 progress reports by video) to validate the progress of the selection.
The selection will be made exclusively in Modern Standard Arabic for written content and in Sudanese and Chadian Arabic for audio content. It will focus on the project’s key themes:
- vocational training for young people (50%),
- educational resources (20%),
- recreational resources (20%),
- information and general knowledge resources (10%).
The service provider’s approach must also take into account the following constraints:
- Avoid content that is too complex to understand for audiences with little or no formal education.
- Ensure the absence of discriminatory content or content that is unsuitable for the sensitive context of the project.
- Respect the project budget envelope for physical documentary selection
- Prioritize royalty-free content for digital
Please note that a kick-off meeting will be held with the project manager and the project consultant at the start of the consultancy. This meeting will allow us to establish a coordination schedule and deadlines for deliverables.
5. DELIVERABLES
At the end of the consultancy mission, the following deliverables are expected:
- A list of 150 to 200 physical contents in Arabic (book titles, educational or board games, etc.) including title, author, publisher, description, language, theme, target audience, level, ISBN and indicative price.
- A list of 200 to 300 digital contents (videos, audios, PDFs, etc.) including related metadata.
- A digital file including the files of the digital content offered.
- Filling the BSF digital content integration platform at the IdeasCube.
- A summary presentation document of the selection in French or English.
BSF will provide blank form templates to be completed for each list. The BSF digital content integration platform’s completion technique will be shared with the upstream service provider.
6. DURATION AND LOCATION OF THE MISSION
The mission is to be carried out remotely, between the signing of the contract and September 10, 2025. This mission is estimated at 15 working days.
A meeting at the BSF office in Montreuil (93 – France) may be offered if the location of the service provider allows it.
7. RESEARCH PROFILE
The consultant must:
- Have perfect oral and written command of literal and Sudanese and/or Chadian Arabic.
- Be able to work in French or English (professional written and oral level required).
- Master office tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, internet browsing)
- Have proven experience in documentary selection, cultural mediation, or non-formal education.
- Have a good knowledge of the humanitarian context in eastern Chad and Sudan.
- Be rigorous, autonomous, creative and able to justify your choices in a reasoned manner.
- Knowledge of BSF tools or experience in an educational association or humanitarian project is an asset.
8. SELECTION CRITERIA
The applications received will be analyzed using a comparative grid which will compare the following selection criteria:
- Proven bilingualism in Arabic/French or Arabic/English or Arabic/French/English [30 points]
- Demonstrated expertise in educational engineering, educational programs, documentary selection, book mediation, etc. [30 points]
- Knowledge of the current context in Sudan and eastern Chad and of humanitarian issues in the region [20 points]
- Consistency of the timetable and detailed work plan [10 points]
- Adequacy of the financial offer with the service proposed [10 points]
9. BUDGET & PAYMENT
The candidate is requested to submit a detailed financial offer of the expected amount of their consultancy.
The service provider selected for this consultancy must be legally registered and able to issue compliant invoices to Libraries Without Borders. Payment terms, including due dates, will be defined during the contract signing process. Payments will be made only after Libraries Without Borders has formally validated the deliverables expected.
How to apply
If you are interested in this mission, please send your application before August 10, 2025 inclusive to the following address: nikita.cabaret@bibliosansfrontieres.org
Please mention “ 224RES – Content selection consultancy application ” followed by your name or the name of the candidate organization in the subject of the email.
Any incomplete application will not be submitted. The expected content of the application file is as follows:
- CV
- Cover letter
- Methodology
- Financial offer
- References
Any questions about the consultancy or its terms can be sent to the same address