The African Media Initiative (AMI) is inviting entries from professional journalists in Africa reporting or writing for print, radio, TV and digital platforms for the third edition of the ZIMEO Excellence in Media Awards.
The Zimeo Awards recognises journalism excellence in 12 different areas among which are urban journalism, Maritime economy, Science and Technology, Agriculture and food security, Peace and security, and Energy and infrastructure.
The other areas where the Awards will recognize excellence are Extractive industries, Media and digital journalism/data journalism, Conservation and Climate Change, Sustainable Development Goals reporting, animal resources and fisheries/biotechnology reporting, and African Union Agenda 2063.
Interested journalists are encouraged to send either single stories/articles or thematic packages in English, French, Portuguese, Arabic and Kiswahili.
A pan African panel of judges will look out for entries which, among other things, demonstrate a high quality of reporting/writing in terms of originality, depth, research rigour, research, investigative enterprise, innovativeness, clarity, proper sourcing, accuracy, exhaustive analysis of the context and background and an above average understanding of the subject matter.
The panel will also look out for entries that are data-driven and use creative digital tools like mapping, crowdsourcing and visualization 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; and are multi-sourced.
The deadline for submission of entries is September 22, 2017 while the winning entries will be awarded during a Media conference to be convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in November this year.
Entry form is available for download from http://africanmediainitiative.org/zimeo-excellence-in-media-awards-2017-entry-form/.
All entries should be emailed to: zimeoawards@africanmediainitiative.org. Enquiries should be sent to Justus Machio, the Communications and Outreach Assistant at the African Media Initiative jmachio@africanmediainitiative.org.
The African Media Initiative (AMI) is an umbrella organisation that brings media owners together and seeks to find solutions to perennial problems facing the industry such as the lack of financing and solid business models, as well as difficulties in accessing the advertising market or even just good Internet connectivity. The organisation also aims to spur better journalism through various training programmes, including in data and development journalism.
