Call for entries to the omson Foundation Young Journalist FPA Award

For the second year running the Thomson Foundation is sponsoring a prize recognising young journalists working in the developing world for the 2014 UK Foreign Press Association (FPA) Awards.

Journalists working in the developing world are invited to succeed Kenyan television reporter Judy Kosgei as the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist FPA Award winner.

Journalists aged 30 and under working in countries with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of less than $20,000 are eligible to enter the awards.

The three finalists will be flown to London, spend two nights in the city and attend the gala award night at the Sheraton Park Hotel on 25 November 2014, along with a host of other potential award winners and leading figures from the world of journalism.

We are delighted to be associated with the prestigious FPA Awards for a second year said Thomson Foundation chief executive, Nigel Baker.

Outstanding trio' Last year we had an outstanding trio of young journalists - Toyosi Ogunseye from Nigeria, Neha Dixit from India and, the winner, Judy Kosgei from Kenya, all of whom had worked on stories which led to positive changes in their respective countries.

We are looking forward to examining the latest batch of entries submitted from countries all over the developing world.

The FPA award judges will be looking for evidence of the impact the story is having on entrant's home country. All three of last year's finalists could demonstrate that their work had led to positive changes, including government action and increased awareness of issues affecting society.

Judy Kosgei's report about the lack of sanitary protection for schoolgirls in rural Kenya sparked a campaign by her television station Citizen TV, which saw 10,000 girls getting a year's supply of sanitary towels.

Toyosi Ogunseye's investigation into a health time-bomb on an upmarket Lagos estate led to the closure of a factory emitting lethal waste and the Nigerian government agreeing to pay residents' medical bills. The story also raised awareness of environmental issues amongst the readers of her newspaper.

After Neha Dixit's story on the poor treatment of Hindu widows in a northern Indian town was published, the Supreme Court of India issued a notice to the state government to provide for these women under national legislation.

Challenges All three journalists had to overcome challenges to get their stories, including working with vulnerable interviewees sensitively and facing threats from corrupt officials and religious fundamentalists. They also showed a rigorous approach to research, in one case organising scientific tests to prove the existence of a major health hazard.

Journalists who enter the 2014 FPA award will need to submit a written statement for each story giving a summary of the content of each story and describe any impact it had on the public debate in the country of publication.

Full details of the conditions of entry are here: http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/fpa-young-journalist-award

LINK:	http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/news-and-features/2014/07/16/call-for...
	See more stories from thompsonfoundation

Most recent headlines