By Thomson Foundation
Thomson Foundation, in partnership with the UK Foreign Press Association (FPA), is inviting young journalists from around the world to submit their most compelling stories.
Now leading into its fifth year, the Young Journalist Award is Thomson Foundation’s annual journalism competition, dedicated to finding and inspiring ambitious and emerging journalistic talent from across the globe.
Previous winners have each possessed the most important traits necessary to be successful in journalism: a unique voice, a fresh perspective and a strong passion not only for their subjects, but also for their craft.
Loyal supporters of the foundation — the world’s longest established international media development organisation — will already know how the award works, but here’s the lowdown for newcomers.
Search for new talent
The competition is open to journalists aged 30 or under from countries with a gross national income per capita of less than $20,000. Those who meet the criteria are welcome to submit a portfolio of three published pieces of work produced in the 12 months preceding the deadline for submissions, which is Friday 18 August, 2017. They can be in any format — print, audio, video, multimedia or a combination of all four.
An esteemed panel from the foundation — all highly experienced journalists within their own right — will tackle the substantial, scouring through hundreds of entries from young journalists from across the globe which, in previous years, have included Africa, the Indian subcontinent, China, South America, parts of Central Asia and the Middle East, for stories that are revelatory, prompt public debate and have led to, or have the potential to lead to, positive change in society.
We draw up the shortlist of 12 then leave the final decisions to our international supreme court. Last year, we welcomed three independent FPA judges from Italy, Switzerland and Australia.
While only three finalists can make it to London to attend the prestigious gala awards night in November, along with a host of other potential award winners and leading figures from the world of journalism, there is space to salute the longer shortlist of 12 on the Thomson Foundation website and social media channels.
“This is the start of a fascinating period for the foundation because we are privileged to get access to a rich mix of compelling stories from across the world,” says Thomson Foundation chief executive, Nigel Baker.
“Previous winners have moved on and up in their careers, won other distinguished awards and continued to unearth news that has had a serious impact on their communities and countries. We look forward to assessing the latest tranche of submissions.”
