UNKT/AJK Call for Application: Journalism Poverty Prize 2018

Deadline: 5 October 2018

The UN Kosovo Team (UNKT) and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) are seeking applications for the 13th edition of the Journalism Poverty Prize 2018 in Kosovo.

The call for application for the Journalism Poverty Prize 2018 is open to all journalists who are legal residents in Kosovo and who covered with their work the issue of poverty eradication in Kosovo.

The award ceremony will be held on 17 October 2018 in Pristina and will involve representatives of media, central and municipal institutions, civil society, private sector, international organizations and other partners, committed to eradicate poverty and promote the Sustainable Development Goals in Kosovo.

The purpose of the Journalism Poverty Prize is to promote and increase the debate around the issues and causes of poverty, and to indirectly impact poverty reduction through pressuring decision makers for policy change. At the same time, the initiative aims to encourage creative solutions to reducing poverty through constructive prioritizing and effective audience targeting.

Award Information

The winners in the different categories will be awarded a prize of 1,000.00 € (one thousand euro). The categories are:

Best short video story
Best TV documentary
Best audio story
Best written story
Best photography

Evaluation Criteria

Submitted stories/products(written, audio, visual) will be evaluated based on their relevance to the main theme of poverty eradication, including issues related to institutional efforts to alleviate poverty through specific measures (such as social protection, access to employment, provision of quality education), while considering the human rights perspective.

In detail, theevaluation panel will consider the following criteria toselecting the awardees:
- Relevance to the theme of Poverty Eradication in Kosovo;
- Journalistic quality,including: objectivity, critical analysis, insight, ethical approach in dealing with interviewed persons in a dignified and respectful manner (with a particular attention to children rights );
- Inclusiveness and respect of diversity: efforts to ensure that diversethnicities, voices and ideas in Kosovo are represented;
- Impact that the story has had on Kosovo society (and subsequent follow-up from decision makers, if available);
- Creativity and style.
Within the broader theme of poverty, the coverage of the following themes will be considered an advantage in the evaluation process:
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment in decision-making;
- Environmental impact on health;
- Impact of lack of access to quality education on poverty, with a particular focus on Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children;
- The Sustainable Development Goals.

Eligibility Criteria

Journalists, who are legal residents of Kosovo and are at least 18-year old at the moment of the Call for Application end, can apply. (Team composed of more than one individual may also apply, provided that the team leader identified in the Application Form responds to the above-mentioned criteria.)
A journalist constitutes, a person who is a member of any registered association of journalists in Kosovo, and or currently is or has been in working contract with registered media outlet in Kosovo.
Requested Characteristics of Submitted Stories/Products
- Each application can contain only one story/product. In case of multimedia stories (e.g. Written article with picture), applicants have to specify for which category they want to participate.
- Only applicants in the category of Best Photography may submit up to three pictures per each application.
Entries must focus on Kosovo context and must have been:
- Written/produced by professional journalists responding to the above criteria;
- Published/broadcast on Kosovo-based media between 13 September 2017 and 06 September 2018;
- Written/produced in English, Albanian, or Serbian;
- Stories written or produced in any other language may be submitted only if translated into English, Albanian, or Serbian.