Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards are now open

London, Tuesday, August 16.

The African Media Initiative is pleased to invite applications for the second edition of the Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards. The contest is open to professional journalists in Africa reporting or writing for print, radio, TV and digital and will recognise journalism excellence in the following categories:

1. Gender/Women’s rights
2. The youth agenda
3. Maritime economy
4. Business and finance
5. Science and Technology
6. Agriculture and food security
7. Health
8. Education
9. Peace and security
10. Energy and infrastructure
11. Extractive industries
12. Media and digital journalism
13. Conservation and climate change
14. African Union Agenda 2063
15. Sustainable Development Goals Reporting

Interested journalists are encouraged to present either single stories/articles or thematic packages in the following languages: English, French, Portuguese, Arabic and Kiswahili.

The pan-African panel of judges will be looking for entries which:
• Demonstrate a high quality of reporting/writing in terms of originality, depth, rigour, research, investigative enterprise, innovation, clarity, proper sourcing, fairness, accuracy, exhaustive analysis of the context and background and an above average understanding of the subject matter.
• Are data-driven and use creative digital tools like mapping, crowd-sourcing and visualisation to help tell the story.
• Communicate the topic in a way that makes the story relevant and engaging to audiences and that contains evidence of its likely social impact or benefit to society.
• Provide, where possible, a pan-African perspective.
• Are multi-sourced.
• Were broadcast or published between July 2015 and July 2016. Proof of this will be required.

The deadline for submission of entries is Thursday, 15 September 2016 and the winning entries will be awarded during a Reporting Africa conference to be convened in Nairobi, Kenya, in November this year. Applications or other materials sent by post, hand or fax will be rejected. All submissions must be in an electronic format. Contestants must download and fill in the entry form and send it via email with their updated CV attached to zimeoawards@africanmediainitiative.org. Download the form here: Zimeo Awards Entry Form

For print, please include the PDF scan(s) of the published article. The text of the article must be legible. Maximum file size: 5 MB – Allowed format: PDF only.
For radio – please upload the file onto SoundCloud and provide the URL link on the entry form.
For digital, please include a working website link (URL) on the entry form
For TV material, please upload the video on YouTube and provide the URL link on the entry form.

For any queries, please contact:
Justus Machio
African Media Initiative
jmachio@africanmediainitiative.org