New media awards on HIV, SRH and GBV open for entries

The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UN-JUPSA), Uganda Aids Commission, the Ministry of ICT and African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) announce the call for entries for the 2021 media awards on HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, and gender-based violence.

The awards, launched by UN-JUPSA in December 2020, honour distinguished reporting on Uganda’s aspirations to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, halting and reversing the spread of HIV, and contributing to the achievement of related Millennium Development Goals. Additionally, they recognise the contribution of journalists, media managers and owners, and independent content creators in achieving the UNAIDS vision of Zero New Infections, Zero AIDS-related Deaths and Zero Discrimination.

Objective of the awards

This exciting new programme seeks to promote high quality, consistent and effective coverage of the national response to HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive health in order to:

• raise public awareness and understanding of key issues and debates;
• augment the knowledge of research and evidence-based interventions;
• highlight grassroots concerns and amplify citizens’ voices; and
• highlight home-grown and international solutions.

Who can participate?

The awards are open to journalists, independent content producers, online media platforms and media houses in Uganda for works produced between 1 July 2020 and 30 August 2021. Please read our entry rules and guidelines for further details.

Categories

There are 14 competition categories in this awards programme, namely:

1. Best news story – Three separate awards will be given for the best news stories produced for print, broadcast and online platforms.
2. Best feature story – Three separate awards will be given for the best feature stories produced for print, broadcast and online platforms.
3. Best investigative story – Three separate awards will be given for the best investigative stories produced print, broadcast and online platforms.
4. Best newspaper, television, radio and online platforms.
5. HIV fast-track ambassador award.

A detailed explanation of each category, the judging criteria and nominations is available on our ‘categories’ page.

Judging

ACME will receive, sort and submit the entries to a panel of 12 experts comprising a combination of distinguished journalists, journalism educators and news leaders with expertise across the media spectrum. The panel will judge all entries, select all winners and present a report of its assessment during the awards ceremony.

Timelines

• 1 July – Submission of entries and nominations begins
• 30 September – Entry deadline
• 1 October – Judging process
• 15 November – Announcement of shortlist
• 1 December – Awards ceremony

The prize

Winners will receive a substantial prize, a commemorative plaque and a framed certificate. They will be recognised at the annual awards gala to be held on World AIDS Day, and their work will be amplified on the awards website.

###

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER ORGANISATIONS