Highway Africa, together with the Partnership for Social Accountability (PSA) Alliance, invites journalists and media houses in Southern Africa to apply for the 4th Southern Africa Media Awards in Social Accountability Reporting 2023.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE AWARD
The award aims to encourage high-quality investigative reporting on issues of social accountability, specifically on HIV / SRHR and food security in Southern Africa.
ABOUT THE AWARD
The award recognises four journalists and one media house in Southern Africa for their outstanding investigative reporting on issues of social accountability related to one of the following categories;
- HIV and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).
- Food Security and Agriculture.
Applications will be examined by a panel of media experts in the region. The winners will be invited to attend the hybrid Regional Dialogue for Non-State Actors (RISDP NSA) to be held on 13 – 14 September 2023, where the awards will be presented.
AWARD PRIZES
- Three individual award prizes for USD 600 each.
- One regional award prize for USD 600 each.
- One media house award prize for USD 1000.
CRITERIA
Eligible entries in all categories should consist of investigative reporting on issues of social accountability[i] related to HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and food security and agriculture.
Individual award
- Applicants must be based in any of the PSA Alliance’s project countries – Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia or Zimbabwe.
- Work must be published between April 2021 and July 2023.
- Entries can be in any language spoken in the five countries.
- Entries can be in print, online, radio, TV, multimedia and photo journalism.
- If submitting multiple entries either in the same category or across multiple categories, complete an entry for each story, to a maximum of two entries.
Regional award
- Applicants for the regional award can be based in any of the 16 SADC countries[ii].
- Applicants must demonstrate critical accountability reporting on regional(SADC or AU) commitments related to SRHR, food security and/or agriculture.
- Work must be published between April 2021 and July 2023.
- Entries can be in any language spoken in the 16 countries.
- Entries can be in print, online, radio, TV, multimedia and photo journalism.
- If submitting multiple entries either in the same category or across multiple categories, complete an entry for each story, to a maximum of two entries.
Media house award
- The media house must be based in any of the PSA Alliance’s project countries – Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia or Zimbabwe.
- Evidence of previous work on social accountability reporting in support of the application must be published between April 2021 and July 2023.
- Applications are required to propose an investigative social accountability story idea on issues closely related to SRHR, food security and/or agriculture at either the national or regional level.
- Entries can be in any language spoken in the five countries.
- Entries can be in print, online, radio, TV, multimedia and photo journalism.
- If submitting multiple entries either in the same category or across multiple categories, complete an entry for each story, to a maximum of two entries.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION
18 August 2023 (23:59 GMT +2)
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants are strongly encouraged to read through the following documents to fully understand the requirements for the call before applying. Late and incomplete applications will not be accepted.
- Social Accountability Reporting Explained
- Adjudication Criteria
- Past winners stories
- Past winners videos
Applicants for the individual award should fill in the application form here >> https://forms.gle/GNqPkv4oYYhAEj8t9
Applicants for the media house award should fill in the application form here >> https://forms.gle/YcP5TcDJeBSEBEoV8
Applicants for the regional award should fill in the application form here >> https://forms.gle/EDQ8J9LNVreweRzy5
BACKGROUND OF THE PSA ALLIANCE
The Partnership for Social Accountability (PSA) Alliance, through the project ‘Strengthening Social Accountability and Oversight in Health and Agriculture in Southern Africa,’ seeks to improve public service delivery in agriculture (food security), health (HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health and rights) and public resource management. This is done through strengthening the oversight and social accountability roles of five target groups in the SADC region, specifically: selected parliamentary committees, relevant government departments, issue-based civil society organisations (CSOs), smallholder farmer organisations, and the media.
With support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the project focuses on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The PSA Alliance is a consortium of organisations led by ActionAid International (AAI) and including the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) of Rhodes University, Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF) and SAfAIDS.
[i] Social accountability is the broad range of actions and mechanisms beyond voting that citizens can use to hold the state to account. It is accountability that relies on civic engagement, namely a situation whereby ordinary citizens and/or civil society organizations participate directly or indirectly in exacting accountability. It is the right of citizens to demand explanations & justifications for the way public resources are spent, and demand corrective action where necessary.
[ii] The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a Regional Economic Community comprising 16 Member States; Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
