The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced the second edition of its ECOWAS Excellence Awards for Journalists, which is intended to recognise the vital role of the media in advancing regional integration and the development of populations in West Africa.
The regional body is inviting media professionals to submit outstanding journalistic and photographic productions highlighting the achievements, significant events, and major milestones of the regional organisation.
According to an announcement of the awards, applications opened on October 1 and will close on October 31, 2026, and are open to journalists and media professionals from both ECOWAS Member States and non-ECOWAS countries.
The awards seek to recognise media professionals whose reports, articles, and digital content have contributed to strengthening public understanding and visibility of ECOWAS initiatives across four broad thematic areas, namely Political Affairs, Peace and Security; Infrastructure, Energy, and Digitalization; Economic Affairs and Agriculture; and Humanitarian and Social Affairs.
The announcement said the thematic areas encompass issues including peace and security, socio-economic and human development, health, agriculture, energy, transport, trade, telecommunications, gender, youth, and regional integration.
The Awards will present prizes across the four thematic areas, with each area carrying awards for Best Television News Report, Best Radio News Report, Best Print News Report, and Best Online News Report. This means the competition will recognise journalistic work across 16 television, radio, print, and online categories covering the four thematic areas.
The entries will be evaluated on their impact, relevance, creativity, and ability to raise awareness and inform the public about the activities, projects and achievements of the ECOWAS Commission that benefit citizens.
The announcement stipulates that submitted content must address one of the four thematic areas and highlight either an ECOWAS achievement or a societal issue relevant to the West African region to which ECOWAS has provided a solution.
Entries must be produced in one of ECOWAS’s three official languages, namely English, French, or Portuguese.
The organisers will also assess originality and innovation in storytelling and presentation, technical and artistic quality, public and social impact, and adherence to ethical and professional standards.
Submitted work must demonstrate truthfulness, impartiality, and journalistic responsibility, while information must be verified and presented with respect for the rights and dignity of people concerned.
For television and radio categories, reports or mini-documentaries must have a minimum duration of two minutes and maximum of five minutes.
Television entries are expected to demonstrate high-quality images and sound, effective editing and, where appropriate, the use of infographics, subtitles, and visual effects, while radio productions are expected to have clear sound and compelling storytelling incorporating interviews, testimonies, or narrative elements.
For the written press category, articles must use precise language, demonstrate high standards of syntax and spelling, and contain no more than 1,500 words. The entries should also have a coherent structure and make appropriate use of data, statistics, and reliable sources.
Online media entries are expected to be adapted to digital platforms and may incorporate multimedia and interactive elements, including infographics, videos, and podcasts.
Each journalist may submit a maximum of three entries in each thematic area, and every submission must be accompanied by a presentation file explaining the context, objectives, and journalistic approach used in producing the work.
Applicants must also provide details of the media outlet or website that published or broadcast the work, the country, and the journalist’s or photographer’s full name and contact information.
Sources, credits, and the necessary authorisations for distribution must also be provided, and entries must comply with the required technical formats and specifications, including formats such as MP4 for video, MP3 or WAV for audio, PDF for documents, and JPEG or PNG for images.
ECOWAS warned that incomplete submissions or entries that fail to comply with the guidelines may be disqualified.
It emphasized originality, intellectual property, and professional integrity, saying that entries must be original and free from plagiarism, while productions submitted for the previous edition of the awards will not be accepted.
Candidates must also be able to demonstrate intellectual property rights over all materials submitted; all factual information must be verified and properly sourced, and compliance with copyright and image-rights requirements is mandatory.
Eligible productions must have been broadcast or published between January 2025 and August 2026 and must focus on a subject relating to ECOWAS activities or achievements.
Submissions are to be sent by email to ecowasprizeexcellence@ecowas.int, while applications will remain open from October 1 to 31, 2026.
Additional or further information may be obtained by contacting jahofodji@ecowas.int and snogueira@ecowas.int.
The first edition of the ECOWAS Excellence Awards was held in 2025 as part of activities marking the regional body’s 50th anniversary. The inaugural award ceremony took place in Banjul, The Gambia, on July 25, 2025.
