Africa Foundation for Young Media Professional Funded Media Fellowship 2023

The programme seeks to strengthen, empower and position next-generation, early-career journalists in Nigeria. Selected fellows will participate in one of the fellowship’s categories: media entrepreneurship and niche building, campus journalism, ethics, safety, fact-checking, women in journalism and disability and inclusion reporting. The six-month programme begins with a two-day in-person workshop. The workshop will be held in Ibadan, Lagos, Owerri, and Port Harcourt. Early-career journalists across Nigeria can apply for a virtual and in-person fellowship. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 5

The Bayeux Calvados-Normandy award

The Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for war correspondents rewards reports about a conflict situation or its impact on civilians, or news stories involving the defence of freedom and democracy. The report must have been made between 1 June 2022 and 31 May 2023. A €7,000 prize is awarded in each category. The categories include radio, photography, television (short and long formats) – written press and the young reporter prize (written press this year). For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 6

National Endowment for Democracy Grant 

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is seeking proposals for projects that advance democratic goals and strengthen democratic institutions. NED encourages applications from organisations working in diverse environments including newly established democracies, semi-authoritarian countries, highly repressive societies and countries undergoing democratic transition. Grant amounts vary depending on the size and scope of the projects, but the average grant lasts 12 months and is around US$50,000. NED is interested in proposals from organisations for nonpartisan programmes that seek to: promote and defend human rights and the rule of law, support freedom of information and independent media, and promote accountability and transparency. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 7

Grist short story contest

Writers around the world can enter a short story contest and compete for cash prizes. Grist is accepting submissions for its annual climate fiction short story contest, “Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors.” This is a competition for writers to imagine a future in which solutions to the climate crisis flourish and help bring about radical improvements to the world. A great story entry showcases creative climate solutions, particularly through narratives that center on the communities most impacted by the climate crisis, and that envision what a truly green, equitable, and decolonised society could look like. Stories must be between 3,000 to 5,000 words. The winner will receive US$3,000. The second and third-place winners will receive US$2,000 and US$1,000, respectively. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 13

Reporting from the African frontline of the global climate crisis

Danida Fellowship Centre and the Danish Embassy in Kenya invite journalists in Africa to apply for training on climate change reporting. The prime goal of the training is to pave the way for climate news and feature stories that are relevant for Africans. Media plays an essential role in getting the message of climate change and the stories of adaptation and mitigation across to the public as well as to decision-makers. When journalists tell well-informed and accurate climate stories, they help citizens and decision-makers understand the realities of climate change and the possible responses. This learning programme “Reporting from the African Frontline of the Global Climate Crisis” is designed for professional journalists including photographers and videographers working in African print and broadcast media. The participating journalists must have both experience and a keen interest in covering the global climate crisis and environmental issues. To take part in the learning programme, participating journalists must be assigned by their managing editors to produce and publicise stories about the world’s climate crisis from an African perspective. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 16

Ocean Reporting Network (ORN) Fellowship

The Pulitzer Center, a global organisation that supports independent, innovative journalism, is now accepting applications for its new Ocean Reporting Network (ORN). The Ocean Reporting Fellows will work on individual and collaborative reporting projects to systematically probe the drivers of the degradation of our marine environment, as well as the socioeconomic impacts. They will have the support of a team of experienced editors at the Pulitzer Center, including a dedicated ocean editor, a research editor, and a data editor. The full-time, year-long fellowships will cover a reporter’s salary and provide additional support for the media outlet that employs the journalist (if on staff), or that agrees to host the fellow (if a freelancer). Fellows are expected to devote a full year to their ocean investigation and to publish regularly. They will receive training and data, communication, research, and coordination support from the Pulitzer Center. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 18

West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is calling for entries for the 7th edition of the West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA). The first two days of the event will be dedicated to discussing various topics under the theme while the last day will be for the annual awards, which honours excellent and impactful works of journalism in West Africa. Participants in this year’s event will deliberate on the current democratic recession in Africa and come out with actionable recommendations to mobilise a continent-wide response to the rollback. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 30

PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival 

PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival is a joint initiative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) that invites the world’s youth to submit original and creative videos focusing on the themes of migration, diversity and social inclusion. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 30

 Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards

The Wikimedia Foundation has launched the inaugural Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards, to celebrate the contributions of journalists in Africa who prioritise diversity, equity and inclusion in their reporting. The awards recognise the essential role journalists play in creating well-researched articles that volunteer editors can use as source materials to develop content on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. Their work helps to grow the knowledge base on one of the world’s most visited websites, so that it is more reflective of the topics, events and people that influence the understanding of culture and history through the ages. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 30

African Fact-Checking Awards

Entries for the 2023 awards are now open to journalists, journalism students, and professional fact-checkers – across the continent. To qualify, entries must have been first published or broadcast in the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. The fact-check should conclude that a claim about an important topic, originating in or relevant to Africa, is either misleading or wrong. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | June 31

Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Fellowships

The Pulitzer Center is recruiting six to eight journalists from anywhere in the world to report on the impacts of algorithms and automated systems in their communities. The 10-month-long fellowship starts in September and it provides each journalist up to $20,000 to pursue projects. Fellows will have access to mentors from different fields and relevant training with a group of peers that will help strengthen their reporting projects. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | July 1

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Programme

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Programme provides a year of non-degree graduate-level study, leadership development and professional collaboration with US counterparts. Primary funding for the Humphrey Programme is provided by the US Congress through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State. Participants from the following regions are eligible: Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, East Asia and Pacific, South and Central Asia and the Western Hemisphere.

During the programme, fellows pursue both their individual programme goals and work closely with their Humphrey colleagues in workshops and seminars. Unlike a typical American graduate school experience, the programme encourages fellows to travel away from their host campus to learn more about American culture and to network with their American peers. Applicants are required to have at least an undergraduate degree, a minimum of five years of full-time, professional experience, demonstrated leadership qualities, a commitment to public service in their community and fluent English. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline I Rolling

Pulitzer Center Journalism Grants on Crisis Reporting

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-profit organisation that supports independent global journalism, is seeking applications for innovative data-driven journalism projects that spotlight underreported issues. This opportunity is open to all newsrooms and independent journalists in the United States and abroad. For details and to apply, click here.

Deadline | Rolling