JOHANNESBURG, 5 August 2022 – Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) together with UNICEF are thrilled to announce the 2022 Isu Elihle Awards finalists on the 23rd of August 2022 at 4:00 pm (SAST). This year we have received over a hundred story ideas from sixteen African countries. Six journalists will be given an amazing opportunity to publish their child-centred stories.
We would like to invite journalists and the public to join us as we make this huge announcement.
For the past years the awards have contributed to a change in attitudes and behaviours of opinion and decision-makers and citizens across the country and continent from the premise that the media frames debates in society and carries enormous influence and, therefore, ability to drive positive change. MMA’s awards seek to give children a voice and highlight the status of children in our continent.
Journalists behind these ideas will each receive guaranteed financial support of ZAR 10 000, MMA will also offer support to the finalists to develop their concepts. The final stories will be ranked and the final cash prizes will be awarded as follows: ZAR 25 000 (Overall Winner); ZAR 15 000 (2nd place); ZAR 10 000 (Third Place).
For further information, please contact:
Girlie Sibanda, Media Monitoring Africa, Tel: 011 788 1278, girlies@mma.org.za
About MMA
Media Monitoring Africa‘s vision is a responsible, quality media that enables an engaged and informed citizenry in Africa and across the world. MMA aims to promote the development of a free, fair, ethical and critical media culture in South Africa and the rest of the continent. To achieve MMA’s vision, the three key areas that MMA seeks to address through a human rights-based approach are: media ethics, media quality and media freedom.
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
JOHANNESBURG, 26 May 2022 – Entries for the Isu Elihle Awards closed on the 20th of May 2022. This year we have received over a hundred applications from sixteen countries across the continent. Six journalists will be given an opportunity to publish their child-centered stories. The top six finalists will be announced during an awards ceremony in July.
These awards seek to contribute to a change in attitudes and behaviours of opinion and decision-makers and citizens across the country and continent from the premise that the media frames debates in society and carries enormous influence and, therefore, ability to drive positive change. The six journalists will receive an amount of ZAR10 000 financial support each to help them to develop their stories. Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and UNICEF will also offer mentorship to the finalists to develop their concepts.
Once published the top six stories will be ranked to top three and cash prizes will be awarded as follows, R25 000 (Overall winner), R15 000 (2 nd place) and R10 000 (3 rd place). The fourth cash prize for The Isu Elihle Mandy Rossouw Accountability Category is conditional. It will only be awarded if there is a story (in the top six) that meets the criteria for the category. The amount of money to be awarded for the Mandy Rossouw prize will be determined on the quality of the story published.
We would like to thank everyone who has managed to submit their story ideas on time and wishing you all the best with your application.
For further information, please contact: Girlie Sibanda Media Monitoring Africa Tel: 011 7881278 girlies@mma.org.za
JOHANNESBURG, 12 May 2022 –Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and UNICEF are excited to announce that the applications for the lsu Elihle Awards 2022 have been extended to the 20th of May 2022 due to some journalists experiencing technical issues with their applications. Journalists across the continent are encouraged to submit their story ideas.
The phrase, Isu Elihle is isiZulu for “great idea”. As the name suggests its awards competition that encourages fresh thinking and innovative ideas for African journalists to come up with great story ideas on issues facing children. These awards also encourage journalists to hold to account those in power to address these issues.
These Awards aim to encourage fresh reporting, innovative approaches and insightful investigations that seek to give children a voice and elevate the status of the child all over Africa. Over the past six years these awards have gained a lot of traction across the continent as we have received applications from twenty countries.
MMA’s awards seek to give children a voice and highlight the status of children in our continent. Journalists behind these ideas will each receive guaranteed financial support of ZAR 10 000. MMA will also offer support to the finalists to develop their concepts. The final stories will be ranked, and the final cash prizes will be awarded as follows: ZAR 25 000 (Overall Winner); ZAR 15 000 (2nd place); ZAR 10 000 (Third Place).
Project coordinator Girlie Sibanda said, “these Awards have made a huge impact to storytelling as journalist are focusing more on telling the stories of an African child , we are looking forward to all the great ideas we are going to receive this year.”
JOHANNESBURG, 1 April 2022 – Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) is excited to officially open the applications for the 2021 lsu Elihle Awards. Journalists within the African continent are invited to apply for these Awards which open today (01 April 2022) and close on the 13th of May 2022. MMA is also proud to announce the continuation of its partnership with UNICEF for this years awards. This partnership has surely helped us enhance and enrich the awards to better heights.
“Isu Elihle” is an isiZulu phrase and could be translated into English as a beautiful, great or simply a neat solution. The Isu Elihle Awards were launched in 2016 by MMA with the support of Save the Children International, the Swedish International Development Agency and Media Network on Child Rights Development (MNCRD) based in Zambia. The awards seek to contribute to a change in attitudes and behaviors of opinion and decision-makers and citizens across the country and continent from the premise that the media frames debates in society and carries enormous influence and, therefore, ability to drive positive change. This year marks six years since these Awards were launched.
These Awards aim to encourage journalist to highlight issues that are faced by children in the continent. Journalist from more than twenty countries have applied in the previous years and diverse issues about children have been raised. This shows that these awards have gained a lot of traction within the continent. We encourage journalist to submit their unique story ideas within the started time frame.
MMA’s awards seek to give children a voice and highlight the status of children in our continent. Journalists are encouraged to submit their story ideas and these can be targeted at any mainstream news medium such as TV, Radio or Online. The top six story ideas will then be selected during an online Awards ceremony in June.
Journalists behind these ideas will each receive guaranteed financial support of ZAR 10 000. MMA will also offer support to the finalists to develop their concepts. The final stories will be ranked and the final cash prizes will be awarded.
For further information, please contact:
Girlie Sibanda, Media Monitoring Africa, Tel: 011 7881278, girlies@mma.org.za
For more details, terms and conditions as well as the Application Form visit the Isu Elihle Award’s website www.isuelihle.org!
The Isu Elihle Awards will be hosting a roundtable in the run up of the 2022 Isu Elihle Awards application period. Bringing together journalists from all over Africa to discuss important issues pertaining to children and the challenges they face reporting on children. The awards seek to contribute to a change in attitudes and behaviours of opinion and decision-makers and citizens across the country and continent from the premise that the media frames debates in society and carries enormous influence and, therefore, ability to drive positive change. The media plays an important role in protecting and promoting children’s rights and, in many instances, in exposing their abuses and triumphs.
JOHANNESBURG, 25 November 2021- Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and UNICEF announced the 2021 lsu Elihle Awards winner on Thursday 25 November 2021. Isu Elihle is an isiZulu phrase that means a “Great Idea” when translated to English, these Awards were launched in 2016 and has been running for five years. Over a hundred applications were received from nineteen African countries which shows a huge growth. These Awards aim to encourage fresh reporting, innovative approaches and insightful investigations that seek to give children a voice and elevate the status of the child all over Africa. In the past two years, the awards were open only for journalists in the Eastern and Southern Africa but from 2018, journalists from all over Africa were included.
We are excited to announce this year’s winners: 1st prize and overall winner of the 2021 Awards goes to Dorcas Wangira who is an early career journalist based in Kenya, she is passionate about science and human-interest features. She recently started working for BBC. Dorcas is awarded for her two-part series coverage on children titled, “Born in prison”. She receives a cash prize of ZAR25 000 after being ranked the overall winner by a panel of judges who are media practitioners. The judges commented on her reporting by saying, “Excellent series, a lot of time and effort was taken to present the issue comprehensively and from all angles. I love the inclusion of things like the drawings of children whose mothers were in prison and their memories of time there. The Journalist engaged the issues with sensitivity, and you never got an impression of secondary trauma to the children involved. The stories were comprehensive and gave the reader a full picture. The article was very clear at drawing the two video reports together and then packaging the whole series together in a way that was comprehensive and showed the legal and ethical challenges, held the powerful accountable and presented options for the future. Very well done”. Read her story here
The second prize of ZAR15 000 goes to Robyn Wolfson Vorster for her four-part series published in the Daily Maverick, it talks about the untold stories of missing children in South Africa. Robyn focuses on writing and advocating for changes in legislation and policy regarding children and giving vulnerable children a voice. The judges commented on her story saying, “This is a thorough exploration of the issues that used beautiful imagery and personal accounts to highlight the issues surrounding missing children in South Africa. Despite the challenges in accessing these children, the journalist was creative in her approach and ensured that although often ‘voiceless’ these children were presented as the focus. She also accessed other children about their opinions, giving them the ability to fully participate in the conversation about issues that affect them”. Vorster is also the winner of the The Isu Elihle Mandy Rossouw Accountability Category which is awarded to a journalist who show remarkable bravery towards holding governments and relevant institutions accountable to ensure that the rights of children on the continent are met. She receives an additional R10 000. Read the story here.
The 3rd prize of ZAR10 000 goes to Caroline Ayugi for her two-part series about how the education department’s limited digital tools slow down learners with visual impairment. Her article is titled, UGANDA: Education system, limited digital tools slow down persons with visual impairment. Her experience in working as an online content producer for Oysters & Pearls-Uganda, a charity that Cultivates Education and Technology and among the visually impaired for the past three years has helped her to identify and write more underreported stories about the challenges Persons with Disabilities in Uganda face. The judges commented on her reporting saying, “This is an interesting and engaging article. While a lot has been written about Covid’s impact on the education system, the experiences and lived realities of children with disabilities, especially in rural and technologically disadvantaged districts, is largely under-represented. It was refreshing to hear from these children as individuals with agency instead of seeing them lumped into a homogenous grouping. Read the story here.
The 2021 application date will be announced early next year, we call upon journalists from all over Africa to enter the awards. Congratulations to all the winners!
On Wednesday 30June 2021 the lsu Elihle Awards finalists where announced during an awards ceremony held online by Media Monitoring Africa and UNICEF. South Africa’s Robyn Wolfson Vorster, Uganda’s Caroline Ayugi, Kenya’s Thomas Mwiraria Murithi and Dorcas Wangira, Zimbabwe’s Farai Shawn Matiashe and Nigeria’s Stephanie Ohumu where announce as top contenders.
Robyn Wolfson Vorster
Robyn Wolfson Vorster is a South African freelance journalist with a special focus on children. With a background in social sciences, and experience in consulting and project management, Robyn left the corporate sector nine years ago to focus on writing about and advocating for changes to legislation and policy regarding children, and giving vulnerable children a voice. Since then she has published more than 60 articles about children, mostly for the Daily Maverick. She is married to Neil and mom of four, including her beautiful daughter Asha, whose adoption inspired her focus on child rights. You can find her at https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/robynwolfsonvorster/ or https://www.facebook.com/forthevoicelesssa/
Caroline Ayugi
Caroline Ayugi is a freelance journalist based in Gulu, Northern Uganda. Her first major story contributions, which were on the recovery of Northern Uganda from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war, got published by Institute for War and Peace Reporting based in London.
She has also worked for The New Vision and The Observer Uganda newspapers, news editor at two radio stations in northern Uganda and a bureau chief at Uganda Radio Network, a news agency.
Caroline, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Makerere University and Public Administration from Gulu University currently contributes stories for The Cooperator News, Uganda Radio Network and Daily Monitor.
Her experience in working as an online content producer for Oysters & Pearls-Uganda, a charity that Cultivates Education and Technology and among the visually impaired for the past three years has helped her to identify and write more underreported stories about the challenges Persons with Disabilities in Uganda face.
Stephanie .l. Ohumu
S.I Ohumu is a journalist focused on social impact stories at the intersection of youth, gender equity, mental wellness, and climate action. She has worked as an investigative journalist and producer for the Emmy nominated documentary, ‘Sex for Grades’ by the BBC Africa Eye, which exposed sexual harassment in West African universities. The film led to the passing of the anti-sexual harassment bill at the Nigerian senate, and the dismissal of predatory professors.
She is currently Content Producer at Radio Now 95.3 FM where she produces cross-platform stories using text, sound, and short-form video, to hold power accountable.
Her writing has appeared in Ours Magazine, This is Africa, Tech Cabal, been exhibited at Venice Biennale, and web series on climate action syndicated by YNaija. She is a regional representative of the National Youth Climate Innovation Hub.
Farai Shawn Matiashe
Farai Shawn Matiashe is an award-winning journalist based in Mutare, Zimbabwe who writes for various international media outlets including Aljazeera, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Vice World News, The Africa Report and Quartz Africa. Farai, who has reported from more than five countries including those in Europe, is passionate about rural reporting where he covers marginalised groups including women and children. Farai’s articles are solution-driven and go beyond just highlighting challenges communities face.
Dorcas Wangira
Dorcas Wangira is an early career journalist passionate about science and human-interest features. She is a Features reporter working with Citizen Television, Kenya’s leading TV network. She has previously worked as a special projects reporter and news correspondent for KTN NEWS, Kenya’s only 24-hour news network.
She believes in the power of the human spirit and in amplifying the voices of those often left behind and at the fringes of society. She produces Your Story, a weekly segment . Her work explores social issues and she is often tasked with explaining complex science issues in a simple way, putting a human face to every story.
For her work, she has received the 2020 MERCK Stay at Home Award for East African Countries, 2019 Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling, 2019 AJEA Award for I.C.T. T.V. Reporting, 2019 MERCK Award for Multimedia Infertility Reporting for East African Countries, and the Zimeo 2017 Award for Climate Change and Conservation reporting. She has also been shortlisted for the 2018 Upstream Oil and Gas Journalist of the Year Award, the UK Foreign Press 2017 Young Journalist Award and the 2015 Mohamed Amin Africa Media Award People’s Choice Award.
An avid reader, Dorcas is passionate about African literature and how the oral and written tradition is central even to news writing. Her vision is clearly spelled out as “disturbing the comfortable; comforting the disturbed.”
Thomas Mwiraria Murithi
Thomas Mwiraria is an award-winning multimedia- Journalist, Writer at heart, and Author with a passion for producing solution-based stories about social justice and environment. He is currently Wildlife Reporting grantee of Infoline, Visual Story-Teller at Hashtag our stories, International Centre for Journalist, and Facebook Journalism Project.
His health story about poverty-related-plague that had affected over 200,000 children in Uganda won Thomson Foundation’s Journalism Now Scholar Prize in 2019. In 2018 he was awarded Eco-Warrior Award by Eco-Tourism Kenya for Promoting the People, Culture, and Heritage.
He was previously a digital journalist at NTV-Kenya and Nation Africa where he produced over 50 public interest stories. For his passion work in Journalism over the last five years , Mwiraria has been awarded several Fellowships notably Facebook and Aga khan University Mobile Video Journalism Fellowship 2020, Climate tracker sustainable Diets fellowship 2020, Infonile wildlife reporting fellowship 2020, and 2021 scholarship award to study Master of arts in digital journalism and communications at The Agakhan University Graduate School of Media Studies.
Mwiraria lives in Nairobi with his house lizards, but he is open for Cross-border journalism because he believes the future of journalism is collaboration.
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and UNICEF will announce the Isu Elihle Awards 2021 finalists on the 30th of June 2021 at 4:30 pm (SAST). We would like to invite journalists and reporters to join us as we make this huge announcement.
This year we have received over a hundred story ideas from nineteen African countries. Six journalists will be given an amazing opportunity to publish their child-centered stories. These finalists will be announced during an online awards ceremony.
The awards seek to contribute to a change in attitudes and behaviors of opinion and decision-makers and citizens across the country and continent from the premise that the media frames debates in society and carries enormous influence and, therefore, ability to drive positive change. This year marks five years since these Awards were launched.
MMA’s awards seek to give children a voice and highlight the status of children in our continent Journalists behind these ideas will each receive guaranteed financial support of ZAR 10 000. MMA will also offer support to the finalists to develop their concepts. The final stories will be ranked and the final cash prizes will be awarded as follows: ZAR 25 000 (Overall Winner); ZAR 15 000 (2nd place); ZAR 10 000 (Third Place).
Project coordinator Girlie Sibanda said, “We are excited to see that the lsu Elihle Awards are gaining traction from the African continent. We have received over a hundred entries of powerful African story ideas .lt is heartwarming to see that journalists are still passionate about telling children’s stories despite the global pandemic that we are all facing”
For more details visit the Isu Elihle Award’s website www.isuelihle.org
For enquiries please contact: Girlie Sibanda girlies@mma.org.za or isuelihle@mma.org.za
The applications for the lsu Elihle Awards close at midnight on the 30 th of April 2021. Journalists are encouraged to submit their story ideas before or on the deadline indicated above.
These ideas will go through an adjudication process, undertaken by a distinguished panel of judges. Following the adjudication process, the top six finalists will be announced in June online and across our social media platforms. Each finalist will receive financial support of R10 000.The final stories will be ranked once they have been published or broadcast, and the final cash prizes will be awarded: ZAR 25 000 (Overall Winner); ZAR 15 000 (2nd place); ZAR 10 000 (Third Place). The media can play an important role in protecting and promoting children’s rights and, in many instances, in exposing their abuses and triumphs. This is informed by the belief that children are not a homogenous group and deserve protection of their rights in all stages of their lives from early childhood development right up until they are legally considered to be adults.
The Isu Elihle Awards therefore aim to encourage alternative thinking around reporting on children, and to contribute to an environment that enables journalists to expose and highlight issues affecting children in the country and the continent.
Kathryn Cleary 2020 winner said that children are the future, but more importantly, they are the now, and that needs to be reflected in journalism.
For more details, terms and conditions as well as the Application Form visit the Isu Elihle Award’s website www.isuelihle.org
For enquiries please contact: Girlie Sibanda girlies@mma.org.za or isuelihle@mma.org.za
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and UNICEF encourages African journalists to enter for its child-centred journalism awards as entries close in ten days. Story ideas are to be submitted by midnight on the 30th of April 2021.
The Isu Elihle Awards were launched in 2016 by MMA with the support of Save the Children International, the Swedish International Development Agency and Media Network on Child Rights Development (MNCRD) based in Zambia. The awards seek to contribute to a change in attitudes and behaviours of opinion and decision-makers and citizens across the country and continent from the premise that the media frames debates in society and carries enormous influence and, therefore, ability to drive positive change.
Story ideas can be targeted at any mainstream news medium such as TV, Radio or Online. The top six ideas will be selected and announced during an awards ceremony in June 2021. The journalists behind these will each receive an award trophy and a guaranteed financial support of ZAR 10 000. MMA will also offer support to the finalists to develop their concepts. individual journalists must take sole responsibility to approach a mainstream media should their story idea be selected as part of the top six.
Project Coordinator at MMA, Girlie Sibanda says, “These awards are meant to give journalists an opportunity to prioritise children’s issues in their reporting by granting them support throughout their journey when writing about them. lf we all work hard to promote great reporting on children and give them a voice we secure them a brighter future”.
For more details, terms and conditions as well as the Application Form visit the Isu Elihle Award’s website www.isuelihle.org
