Calling all journalists and freelancers in Africa: Apply for the Media Matters 2024 Isu Elihle Awards
Calling all journalists and freelancers working in Africa – entries are now open for Media Matters’s 2024 Isu Elihle Awards.
Closing date: 30 May 2024
Story ideas must be targeted at any mainstream news medium such as TV, radio, or online platforms.
WHAT IS ISU ELIHLE?
“Isu Elihle” is an isiZulu phrase and could be translated into English as a beautiful, great or simply a neat solution.
The Isu Elihle Awards were launched in 2016 and have been funded by UNICEF. “Isu Elihle ” is an isiZulu phrase and could be translated into English as a beautiful, great or simply a neat solution.
As the name suggests, the awards aim to encourage alternative thinking around reporting on children, and to contribute to an environment that enables journalists to expose and highlight issues affecting children in the country and the continent.
COMPETITION INFO
First Stage: Submission of the story idea ( 1 May 2024 – 30 May 2024)
Journalists submit their story ideas before or on the deadline( 30 May 2024 at 23:59PM CAT ). These ideas will go through an adjudication process, undertaken by a panel of judges made up of children, child rights experts and independent media practitioners.
Following the adjudication process, the top six finalists will be announced online and across social media platforms and where possible on mainstream media.
Second Stage: Producing and publishing the full story.
The top six journalists will be given financial support of up to R10 000 each to research and develop their concepts into publishable news items, which will then be published or broadcast, by a mainstream news media house of their choosing.
Please note that individual journalists must take sole responsibility to approach a mainstream media house and secure an agreement to publish/broadcast with the media house in question should their story idea be selected as part of the top six.
The top six stories will undergo adjudication and only the top three are guaranteed to win a cash prize. There is a fourth cash prize, that is “The Isu Elihle Mandy Rossouw Accountability Category” (MRC). This fourth prize is conditional, it will only be awarded if there is a story (in the top six) that meets the criteria for the category.
The amount of money to be awarded for the Mandy Rossouw prize will be determined by the quality of the story published.
PRIZES
| Winner Categories | Approximate Cash prize * |
| Overall winner: | R25 000 |
| First runner up: | R15 000 |
| Second runner up: | R10 000 |
| Mandy RossouwCategory (“MRC”): | BETWEEN R10 000 AND R25 000 |
*Please note that it is possible for one of the top 3 winners to be selected as the winner of the Mandy Rossouw Category.
In this case they would take two cash prizes. It is also possible that the MRC will not be awarded to any participant based on the judges’ decision.
HOW TO ENTER
For rules, guidelines and ore information, please CLICK HERE.
