Entries open for Uganda National Journalism Awards 2025

Deadline: 28 February 2025

The African Centre for Media Excellence is pleased to announce its Uganda National Journalism Awards (UNJA).

The awards are open to all Ugandan journalists who are professional and competent, but also exhibit a passion for in-depth public affairs reporting and investigative journalism. The specific objectives of the awards scheme are to:

Inspire young journalists to embrace enterprise and investigative journalism.
Increase the quantity and quality of public affairs reporting and investigative journalism.
Promote accurate, knowledgeable, enterprise and investigative reporting in all media.
Increase the diversity of voices in media coverage.

Categories

The 19 competition categories of the Uganda National Journalism Awards 2025 come under two segments as follows:
- One institutional awards for media management, leadership, transformation and innovation.
- 18 thematic awards for coverage of specific subjects.
Institutional-Based Category
- The institutional award will be given to media houses, not individual journalists or media practitioners. Judging will be based on criteria including, but not limited to:
  - Creativity of an idea
  - Processes and execution
  - Results and impact
  - Sustainability and replication
  - Entries for all institutional-based categories must be submitted using the UNJA Shield of Journalism Award submission form.
Subject-Based Categories
- Agriculture reporting: The Agriculture Reporting Award recognises outstanding journalism that illuminates the complexities, challenges, and innovations within the agricultural sector.
- Arts reporting: The Arts Reporting Award celebrates the outstanding efforts of journalists who breathe life into the dynamic realms of the arts and creative expression through their perceptive and captivating reporting. This award honours journalists who cover a wide array of artistic fields, encompassing visual arts, performing arts, literature, film, music, and beyond.
- Business, economy and financial reporting: The Business, Economy, and Financial Reporting Award honours outstanding journalism that explores business, economics, and finance with excellence and creativity.
- Community reporting: The Community Reporting Award recognises journalists based outside of Greater Kampala who produce reporting that centres on issues and events vital to their local communities.
- Education reporting: The Education Reporting Award recognises journalism that shines a light on critical issues and innovations in the realm of education.
- Energy and natural resources reporting: The Energy and Natural Resources Reporting Award honours journalism that demonstrates excellence in uncovering and explaining the complexities, challenges and impacts associated with energy production, distribution, and the extraction of petroleum and minerals.
- Environmental reporting: The Environmental Reporting Award recognises journalists that, through their reporting, raise awareness about environmental issues and promote sustainable practice.
- Climate change reporting: The Climate Change Reporting Award aims to recognise and celebrate exceptional journalism that engages with the pressing issues surrounding climate change, a topic of increasing urgency and importance.
- Health reporting: The Health Reporting Award will be given for distinguished reporting and writing on a wide range of issues including, but not limited to, public health, medical research, the business of health care, disease and health ethics, health infrastructure and systems, health-related social and behaviour change, and human capital.
- Justice, law and order reporting: The Justice, Law and Order Reporting Award honours the exceptional work of journalists who report on the intricate aspects of justice, law, and order with professionalism, accuracy, and a commitment to truth.
- Political reporting: The Political Reporting Award shines a light on journalism that brings clarity and transparency to the often-complex world of politics.
- Public accountability reporting: The Public Accountability Reporting Award recognises journalism that critically examines and enhances the understanding of public accountability mechanisms and issues in Uganda.
- Public works and infrastructure reporting: ThePublic Works and Infrastructure Award recognises exemplary journalism that sheds light on Uganda’s significant investments in public works and infrastructure development, acknowledging that this sector represents one of the largest budget spends in the country.
- Religion reporting: The Religion Reporting Award recognises outstanding journalism that delves into the diverse religious beliefs, practices, and issues in Uganda.
- Science and technology reporting: The Science and Technology Reporting Award will be given to journalists who excel in reporting on scientific advancements and technological innovations, and their impact on society.
- Sports reporting: The Sports Reporting Award recognises exceptional journalism that showcases the dynamic world of sports with insight, integrity, and creativity.
- Traditions and culture reporting: The Traditions and Culture Reporting Award seeks to honour exceptional journalism that delves into the vibrant tapestry of traditions and cultural heritage that defines Uganda.
- Urbanisation and human settlements reporting: The Urbanisation and Human Settlements Award seeks out outstanding journalism that delves into the complexities of urbanisation and human settlements in Uganda.
- Special regional category:
  - Reporting on the productive use of solar energy in agriculture: This award honours exceptional journalistic work that highlights the transformative role of solar energy in agricultural development.

Eligibility Criteria

There is no entry fee.
The competition is open to all journalists, whether freelance or full-time, as well as independent content producers working in Uganda.
Entries are welcome from anyone producing journalistic content on any platform, online or offline. This means that independent content producers who published journalistic content relevant to the competition are also welcome to submit entries.
Submitted work must have been published or broadcast in a Ugandan media outlet or a regional news outlet that is widely accessible in Uganda.
There is a total of 19 categories in this competition: 1 institutional-based award and 18 subject-based awards.
All work (for subject-based entries) and strategies (for institutional-based entries, apart from the Stanbic Shield of Journalism category) submitted must have been broadcast, published, or implemented between 1 January and 31 December 2024.

Application Requirements

All submissions must be made online using either one of the following submission forms:
- UNJA 2025 institutional awards submission form or UNJA 2025 topical categories submission form.
Subject awards categories: Entrants must complete the submission form in full. Entrants in the subject-based categories can only submit work in ONE category. Submissions must comprise a body of work in a single reporting area. Here, a body of work relates to a collection of at least three and up to five pieces of journalism that may include:
- Related pieces or series showcasing in-depth coverage of a single topic.
- Unrelated pieces on a variety of topics within the same category, that display reporting versatility and consistency.
Institutional awards categories: Institutions must submit entries for competition using the UNJA 2025 Shield of Journalism submission form.
Translation required: If the submitted work was published or broadcast in a language other than English, an English translation or transcript must be provided.
Access to entries: If an outlet has a paywall or limited access, the entrant must provide entries in readable PDFs. Failure to provide accessible content during the screening and judging period will result in disqualification.
Entry formats for subject-based categories:
- Print Entries: Submit clean, clearly legible, text-recognisable PDF documents with visible publication dates. Photographs/illustrations should be sent as published in PDF format or as cuttings of the original published copies.
- Radio/Podcasts Entries: Submit full audio form entries not exceeding 60 minutes. Large files should be sent using Google Drive or other large file FTP services.
- Television/Video Entries: Emailed entries must be in MP4, AVI, or MOV format, not exceeding 60 minutes. Large files should be sent using Google Drive or other large-file FTP services. If sending files through a third-party platform, indicate this in the submission form.
- Online Entries: Provide offline versions of online published work in legible, machine-readable PDF format. Working live or cached links for the articles must be provided to verify publication or broadcast.