MISA Communiqué (Gender & Media Awards)

August 9, 2004

Announcing exciting new Gender and Media Awards

As part of the Gender and Media Summit in September the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) and Gender Links will be launching the first Southern Africa Gender and Media Awards.

The awards will acknowledge excellence in gender aware reporting since the Gender and Media Baseline Study (GMBS) in 2003. The GMBS was the most comprehensive study ever to be undertaken regionally and globally on how women and men feature in the news. It showed significant gender gaps in the representation of women in the media, as well as biases in the way women and men are portrayed.

Who can apply?

Applications are welcome from male and female journalists and writers in all 13 countries of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) as well as from Seychelles.

What kind of stories should be submitted?

Submissions may include English, Portuguese or French stories that are specifically about gender issues, as well as stories on every day issues that have a gender perspective.

What are the categories?

Applications can be submitted in any of the following categories:

· Print: Newspaper and Magazine

· Radio

· Television

· Opinion and Commentary

· Photojournalism

Please note that all the categories are inclusive of private, community and public/state media.

Criteria for submissions

· All work submitted must have been produced between May 2003 and June 2004.

· Only individual submissions are allowed.

· Individuals are permitted a maximum of three entries in three different categories

· Submissions must be in English, Portuguese or French

What do you need to submit?

For each application you make, you will need to submit the following:

· The attached form (http://www.genderlinks.org.za/gemsummit/awards-form.htm) with a short biography; motivation of why your work should be considered for an award and verification that this is your authentic work by an editor or manager, especially in instances where the work does not carry a by-line.

· A sample of the item which you are submitting for an award:

i. For print: actual artifacts

ii. For radio: audio cassettes/DVDs

iii. For television: video cassettes/DVDs

iv. For photojournalism: actual artifacts

v. For opinion and commentary: actual artifacts

Criteria for the best gender and media practices

The awards will be adjudicated by a high level panel of regional and international media experts. Among the principles of good journalism that they will consider in reaching their decision are: balance, fairness, use of language and ethical considerations as well as the extent to which the items raise critical debate and challenge prevailing stereotypes.

The awards

There will be one award and one runner up award in each category. The main award will consist of a scholarship to participate in the Gender and Media Summit; a trophy and a R3000 cash award. The runner up award will consist of the opportunity to participate in the Gender and Media Summit, a trophy as well as the opportunity to participate in MISA's media exchange programme (a two week attachment to a media house in the SADC region).

Where and when to submit entries:

All entries must be sent by post, courier or hand delivery to:
Summit Administrator
Gender Links
Lower Ground Floor
Lakeside Place
1 Ernest Oppenheimer Street
Bruma, Johannesburg
South Africa

Deadline: 18 August 2004.

Fax, E Mail and late submissions will not be considered.

Queries?

Should you have any queries please contact Kubi Rama on [email protected] or phone 27 (0) 11-622-2877 Or Contact Jennifer Mufune on [email protected] or phone 264 61 232975, fax: 264 61 248016

Ends