The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023 is now accepting submissions. Once again, the prestigious award celebrates the best investigative stories published in the previous calendar year and is awarded in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.
This year, aside from national awards, the EU Award is introducing a regional award, targeting the best stories from the entire region based on clearly defined criteria. This new category is an exciting development that will encourage journalists to think beyond national borders and tackle issues that affect the entire region.
The annual award fund for each of the countries is 10,000 euros and the prize fund for regional awards is also 10,000 euros. The three best stories of the year are awarded, and the amount for national and regional prizes is 5,000 euros (first place), 3,000 (second), and 2,000 (third).
Stories that can be nominated should contribute to freedom of expression, the rule of law and transparency. They should cover a variety of topics affecting national and regional economies, struggles and challenges to countries’ EU integration processes, societies and countries’ perspectives, e.g. organised crime, corruption, the rise of extremism, various forms of foreign influence, human rights violations, including those in the digital sphere, and other topics that the public would not otherwise be familiar with.
Entries can be nominated for the national or regional award, or for both, and this possibility is offered through the application form itself. Additionally, one candidate may apply to the competition with several stories.
The winners from the national awards in the Western Balkan region and Türkiye automatically become candidates for the regional EU award for investigative journalism, if their application form so states. The jury for both the national and the regional awards consists of local and international media experts, editors, members of academia and journalists with merits.
The organiser of the award is Thomson Media, an organisation with decades of experience in media development and the promotion of media freedom on a global level.
The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023 is part of the project “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II”. This aims to recognise and promote outstanding achievements in investigative journalism as well as improve the visibility of quality journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.
The project is funded by the European Union, and it is implemented by a consortium composed of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Hub, Central European University (CEU) – Hungary, Association of Journalists (AJ) – Türkiye, Thomson Media (TM) – Germany, University Goce Delcev Stip (UGD) – North Macedonia, The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) – North Macedonia, Media Association of South-East Europe (MASE) – Montenegro and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo (BIRN Kosovo).
Benefits
- The annual award fund for each of the countries is 10,000 euros
- The prize fund for regional awards is also 10,000 euros.
- The three best stories of the year are awarded, and the amount for national and regional prizes is 5,000 euros (first place), 3,000 (second), and 2,000 (third).
Eligibilities
- Journalists or groups of journalists whose stories have been published or broadcast in any media in Serbia – print, radio, TV, online – in Serbian and minority languages are eligible. Innovative formats like podcasts, YouTube/TikTok/Instagram investigative series are also welcome and highly encouraged.
- In case the story is published in minority languages, a translation into Serbian or English must be submitted. Stories published or broadcast from 1 January 2022 to 31 December, 2022 can be nominated. Nominations can be submitted by:
– Authors of proposed investigative stories;
– Other individuals, media and organizations with the author’s written consent.
- Journalists or groups of journalists can apply with more than one story to the competition.
- Previous winners of the EU Award for Investigative Journalism, i.e. participants of previous rounds of awards, can also submit their works.
- The candidate for the award and those who nominate them accept the rules and conditions of this contest and agree to be presented to the public (see document: Declaration of Consent).
- In case of group applications, at least one of the journalists applying for the award must be a citizen of the Republic of Serbia.
Application Process
- Proposals must be submitted through the appropriate form (see document: Application form 2023) and in accordance with the instructions. Only completely completed applications will be considered.
- There are two ways to submit entries. Candidates can:
- Submit URLs to their stories/series if published online.
- Use file transfer applications like Google Drive or PDF formats for printed articles as well as large audio or video files.
- The proposal/nomination must be submitted electronically to the following email address: [email protected]. The SUBJECT field should be written in the following form: EU Award – Name of the nominee.
Application Deadline: June 20, 2023
Application ClosedOfficial link
