UN Women has partnered with the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the African Women Leaders’ Network (Tanzania and Malawi Chapters); the Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA); The Association of Women in Media (Malawi); and the MISA Chapters in Tanzania and Malawi, to promote and recognize excellence in the media reporting of the work by Feminist Movements in East and Southern African countries.

The initiative brings together various actors, including the media, feminist movements and leadership, policy makers, development partners and donors for gender equality, young gender activists, male champions, the civil society and other influencers of gender equality and women’s empowerment – to pay a much closer attention to progress, best practices, opportunities, strengths, and gaps in efforts towards realizing the rights of women in the region.


 
The Awards were inspired by a UN Women Global Campaign: “Generation Equality: Realizing the Rights of Women for an Equal Future” launched in 2019. The campaign is bringing the next generations of women’s rights activists with the gender equality advocates and visionaries who were instrumental in creating the BPfA in 1995, for galvanized actions towards Gender Equality.

Through this campaign, six Action Coalitions were established to drive increased commitment in addressing gender gaps in the following areas: Feminist Movements and Leadership; Gender based violence; Economic Justice and Rights; Feminist Action for Climate Justice; Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality; and Bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

Based on human rights principles, and through a data-driven process of consultation with international feminist groups, grassroots activist organizations, governments and other partners, the coalitions seek to catalyze collective action; spark global and local conversations among generations; drive increased public and private investment; and deliver concrete, game-changing results for girls and women.

The Categories
Journalists are expected to frame their stories along the following five categories:

The Women’s Rights Activism and Leadership
Protection of Civic Space for Feminist Action and Movement Building
Intergenerational Partnerships for Consensus Building and Succession
Feminist Movements and Financing for a Gender Equal Future
Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality
A Panel of Judges will be looking for:

Stories that demonstrate knowledge of the subject area, understanding the scope of the category
A gender-lens approach to reporting (gender-responsive)
Great Journalism ability, creativity, innovation and integrity
Writes with clarity, simplicity for ease of communication, and demonstrates analytical skills, depth, and an impressive investment in research
Background knowledge of the Generation Equality and ongoing events locally, regionally and globally
Understanding of how the Feminist Movements and Leadership Action Coalition connects with the other 5 Action Coalitions
Demonstrates Tenacity, Courage and ability to develop follow-up stories for more insight on the subject area.

Rules of Entry
The competition is open to all professional journalists and freelance journalists, who are at least 18 years of age.
Journalists must be working in East and Southern Africa for media organizations that are based in the region (East and Southern Africa) that print publications and electronic news for dissemination in the region as the primary target audience.
Journalists are not required to pay any fee to enter the competition.
Entries should have been published between 20 May and 15 October, 2021,which is the deadline for entry.
Late and lost entries, illegible or fraudulent entries or acts or any other entries or acts which bring or would be likely to bring the reputation of the organizers into disrepute shall render the entrant ineligible to participate in the competition and will be disqualified.
Journalists must enter ONLY one best story in each of the five categories . Follow-up stories directly linked to the initial story will be counted as a single story.

Prizes
There are 15 prizes up for grabs. A Total of three prizes will be awarded in each category. Winning Entries will be announced at a ceremony in November 2021.

How to submit Your Entry:

Fill-in the form and share links to your entries/ stories here

Alternatively, download the Entry Form and send to : [email protected]

Application Deadline: 15 October, 2021

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage