Deadline: May 12, 2013
The Guardian in partnership with a group of UK-based international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is inviting applications for the 2013 Guardian International Development Journalism competition. Now in its sixth year, the competition aims to highlight some of the crucial issues facing the developing world are often overlooked or underrepresented by the media. The Guardian is searching for enthusiastic writers who want to demonstrate their journalistic abilities by examining these issues.
The Challenge
The challenge is to write a feature of 650 to 1,000 words on an aspect of global poverty that deserves greater media exposure.
Prize
- The 12 best writers will be selected from a long list of around 40 entrants, all of whom will have their articles published online at guardian.co.uk.
- The 12 finalists will be flown to a developing country to research a new assignment.
- The finalist pieces will then be published in a Guardian newspaper supplement, after the announcement of the winner at an awards ceremony in November 2013.
Eligibility and Criteria
The Competition is open to UK residents aged 18 (on or before 12 May 2013) and over. People who are staff writers at any national or international newspapers cannot enter.
What the judges will be looking for, particularly in the first round of the competition:
- Clear and concise argument based on the chosen theme
- Supported by factual evidence
- That your piece meets the theme brief
- A piece that “lives” to the reader. Does it feel real? Are the people or situations described vivid and believable to the audience?
- No patronising or sensationalist statements
- Sense that the writer has understood the subject
- Accessible to people who don’t know much about the subject
- Good writing skills, grammatically correct with an absence of jargon
- Readable from a journalistic perspective
- Remember this is not to be an academic essay but an engaging feature
How to Enter the Competition
To enter, follow the following steps;
- Select the theme that you want to write about
- Do your research using the suggested resources as a starting point
- Write a 650-1000 word article on your selected theme, and upload it using the online entry form. Your word feature should fall under one of the 12 themes below.
Themes
- Global hunger: prevention or cure?
- Global Youth Unemployment: a ticking timebomb
- How can young people growing up in poverty thrive in the adult world?
- Is empowering women the answer to ending poverty in the developing world?
- Poverty and disability: too close for comfort?
- Tackling hunger with a red herring? Farm productivity and gender equality
- Technology Justice: a rallying cry for this century?
- The human target: how do you protect human rights in a world that pushes for results?
- Were the MDGs worth it?
- What can be done to accelerate rural education standards in developing countries?
- What is the role of China in the global health agenda?
- Women and armed conflict – sexual violence as a weapon of war
NOTE: Read all the Terms and Conditions as well as entry rules thoroughly before applying.
For more information, click here.
