Isu Elihle Awards Ceremony

Rewarding Innovative Journalism about Children

19 September 2017                                             

Which journalist will win R25 000 for their innovative story idea?

Which African countries will be represented amongst the top three finalists?

Tomorrow, on Wednesday 20 September 2017, Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) will announce the top three finalists from the entries submitted for this year’s Isu Elihle Awards.

Translated from IsiZulu to mean “Great Idea”, the Isu Elihle Awards aim to encourage journalism which amplifies the voices of children on the continent and highlight their issues in a manner that is unique and thought-provoking.

Director at MMA William Bird said, “The amount of interest we continue to receive for these awards illustrates that there is room to invest in quality journalism. The diverse and original nature of the story ideas we received this year also indicates that children face complex issues that we need to encourage media to expose if we are to improve their realities.”

MMA launched the awards last year in partnership with Media Network on Child Rights and Development (MNCRD) in Zambia as well as Save the Children International (SCI).

Director for SCI’s Regional and Multi country Programming Unit  Ben Aliwa said, “Save the Children continues to increasingly recognise the critical role that the media plays on reporting children’s issues and the Isu Elihle Reporting Awards represent meaningful recognition of the role.  We believe that the awards celebrate excellence in amplifying children’s voices in the media which SCI sees as a critical pathway for them to participate in decisions that affect their lives.”

SABC’s Morning Live Leanne Manas will deliver the keynote address during this year’s ceremony on Wednesday 20 September at Google South Africa in Johannesburg from 10:00 – 13:00. The event will also be livestreamed on Media Monitoring Africa’s Facebook Page @MediaMattersZA

Each finalist will receive a guaranteed R10 000 to develop his/her story idea for publication. After the final stories have been ranked each will stand a chance to win the following cash prizes: R25 000 (Overall Winner); R15 000 (Second Place) and R10 000 (Third Place).

 For more details please contact:

Ayabulela Poro or Girlie Sibanda

Tel: 011 788 1278

Email: ayabulelap@mma.org.za or girlies@mma.org,za

Social Media

Follow the accounts below on social media for updates during the event:

MMA:   @MediaMattersZA  @MediaMattersZA

SavetheChildren: @ESASaveChildren

MNCRD:   @MNCRDAfrica