Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) is delighted to launch its 8th edition of the Isu Elihle Awards Competition – an African ground-breaking initiative that promotes and supports ethical, engaging and quality reporting on children’s issues.

Isu Elihle is isiZulu and stands for “great idea”. As the name suggests is an awards competition that challenges journalists to submit high-quality child-focused story ideas that are innovative, places children’s issues at the centre, involve children’s voices when it is in their best interest, and hold the powerful to account.

The competition aims to empower and equip journalists through mentorship, sharing of resources and providing financial support to help them to develop and publish their stories in any mainstream news media platform of their choice. This encourages journalists to challenge how they see children engage with the issues that affect them. This results in a remarkable journey of growth evident in the initial story idea, all the way to the final published story.

The awards also honour the legacy of Mandy Rossouw through the Isu Elihle Mandy Rossouw Accountability Category, which is awarded to the journalist (if so determined) who made the best attempt at holding the powerful to account on issues specifically related to children.

This year’s Isu Elihle awards come at a time when about 14 countries in Africa are set to held Presidential elections, journalists can use the Isu Elihle Awards not just to provide excellent story ideas about children but then go on to hold powerful people accountable in the way they handle children issues.

Competition details:

• The Competition is held in English. Therefore, all entries and story ideas must be in English.
• Applications for this year’s awards open on 1 May 2024and will close at midnight on 30 May 2024 CAT.
• Story ideas must be targeted at any mainstream news medium such as TV, Radio or Online.
• The Competition is open to professional journalists, whether directly employed or freelancers, working in the continent of Africa and there is no entry fee payable.
• Please ensure that you read carefully the competition rules, found here.
• To review a sample entry form and get a sense of how to complete it, click here.
• Once you are ready to submit and share your story idea, please find the entry form here.
  

The final stories will be ranked once they have been published or broadcast, and the final cash prizes will be awarded as follows:

Winner Categories

Approximate Cash Prize

Overall Winner

ZAR 25000

First Runner up

ZAR 15000

Second Runner up

ZAR 10000

Mandy Rossouw Category (MRC)

ZAR 20000

*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 based on the judges’ final decision.

For further information, please contact:

Jacques Ndong, Project Coordinator, jacquesn@mma.org.za; 011 788 1278

About MMA

Media Monitoring Africa‘s vision is a responsible, quality media that enables an engaged and informed citizenry in Africa and across the world. MMA aims to promote the development of a free, fair, ethical and critical media culture in South Africa and the rest of the continent. To achieve MMA’s vision, the three key areas that MMA seeks to address through a human rights-based approach are: media ethics, media quality and media freedom.

For more information about MMA and its work for children visit www.mediamonitoringafrica.org, Follow MMA on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube