Call for Entries: 2025 AMDF Journalist of the Year Award
BACKGROUND
Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF) invites applications from interested professional, or freelance journalists in Africa for its 2025 AMDF Journalist of the Year Award.
CRITERIA
* Each piece of work submitted must be an untold compelling development-focused story from Africa and focused on Africans
* The piece must reflect high-quality journalism work, highlighting major issues in the story, as well as the skills of the entrant in terms of quality of writing and logical presentation.
* All entries for the 2025 AMDF Journalist of the Year are to be submitted from 1st – 30th September, 2025.
* The piece should have been first published or broadcast in an African medium, or Africa-focused medium, between 1st September 2024 and 31st August 2025.
CATEGORIES
Television
Radio
Photography
Online
METHOD OF SUBMISSION
* Submit a URL (web link) of the published work, alongside other soft copies of required documents – hard copies are not acceptable.
* All entries must be submitted through the online link https://forms.gle/Bds9EsYkPyRY3tAD8
Television
*Provide weblink to the entry on the news website/YouTube channel of the media organization where it was aired. Otherwise, upload the entry on YouTube and provide the weblink.
*The submitted entry must have the newscaster reading the intro of the story linking the reporter till the cue out.
Radio
* Provide weblink to the entry on the news website of the media organization that aired the story. Otherwise, upload the entry on SoundCloud and provide the weblink.
* The submitted entry must have the newscaster reading the intro of the story and linking the reporter till the “cue out”.
Photography
*For photos published in online news medium, submit weblink.
*Entries for photos published in print should be clean and clear scanned PDF copy showing full page containing the work with date of publication.
*Upload the original photo.
Online
*Provide weblink of the entry on the website of the medium where it is published.
*Upload a clean and clear scanned copy of the original print story in PDF format.
ELIGIBILITY
The Award is open to professional journalists from Africa, who have published stories on either radio, TV, online, or print media targeting African audiences.
GENERAL GUIDE
* All submitted works must be in English Language.
* A maximum of one entry is allowed per entrant.
* Past ‘AMDF Journalist of the Year Award’ recipients are not eligible to submit entries.
* AMDF Employees and their immediate family members are not eligible to participate in this competition.
* The journalist with the most outstanding work amongst the finalists will be selected as the 2025 AMDF Journalist of the Year.
* By sending an entry to this competition, you agree to grant AMDF a royalty-free license to use your submitted works for any purpose deemed appropriate for the development of the Award concept, the AMDF, and the media in general.
SUBMISSION
The submitted package should include:
* Current CV of the journalist who bears the by-line of the story
* A high-resolution passport photograph
* A cover statement of not more than 400 words on the story;
* Explaining the background of the work: Identify the issues that led to the topic, and any unusual experience encountered in the cause of the work.
* Describe challenges to the content of the story that were not reported in the original work.
JUDGING PROCESS
* A panel of judges, comprising respected persons with suitable competencies in journalism, shall preside over the competition.
* The judges reserve the right to disqualify any piece of work or finalist if, in their opinion, there exists any reasonable doubt about the authenticity, or accuracy of submitted work, or the integrity of the finalists.
* AMDF award recipients and runners-up are expected to be persons of high ethical and professional standards. The organization reserves the right to withdraw awards at any point in time based on the misconduct of the recipient.
THE AWARD CEREMONY
The finalist and runner-up will be announced during the 2025 Africa Conference on Development Journalism (#ACDJ2025) which holds from 3rd – 4th December 2025 in Kaduna, Nigeria.
Deadline for Submission of Entries: 11:59 PM Monday 30th September, 2025. Only entries received by the deadline will be treated.
Kindly direct all enquiries to: awards@amdf-centre.org
ABOUT AMDF
AMDF is an organization that provides professional support to media and sustainable development initiatives. For more on the organization, please visit www.amdf-centre.org
Sekyen Dadik
Executive Director
Africa Media Development Foundation
Suite 9, 1st Floor Imam House
Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna, Nigeria
+234 (0) 809 089 9927
www.amdf-centre.org