Registration by applicants interested to participate in the African Women in Media: Agenda 2063 Awards will close on 8^th December 2022, 2PM EAT. Every year during the annual African Women in Media Conference, female journalists are given the opportunity to pitch their story ideas to document the progress in the realization of the various Agenda 2063 Aspiration and Goals. The AWIM Agenda 2063 Awards Pitch Zone is unique in its setting as it provides journalists a setting where they can showcase their creativity and ultimately be supported with cash grants to produce stories and news pieces on opportunities for fostering Africa’s socio-economic growth through the implementation of Agenda 2063.

Five female journalists will be selected as the winners of the Agenda 2063 Awards 2022 in the upcoming African Women in Media (AWiM) Conference to be held in Fez, Morocco on the 8^th- 9^th December 2022. The awardees will receive a $3000 cash grant to support the production of their stories.

To participate, interested journalists are required to submit written pitches for any of the 5 award categories which they will defend before a group of judges during a live pitch event. To be eligible to pitch, the journalists must attend the AWiM22 conference either in-person or virtually. Read the terms of reference and register here. Upon registration, the applicants are given access to the conference App to book the timeslot for the live pitch. One must be a female journalist and a citizen of any of the 55 Member States of the African Union, working in an established media organization or accredited as a journalist by the relevant governing authority of the AU Member State.

The 5 Award Categories are:

1. AU Theme of the Year 2022 – The Year of Nutrition “Strengthening resilience in nutrition and food security on the African continent: Strengthening agro-food systems, health and social protection systems for the acceleration of human, social and economic capital development.”
2. Africa’s Digital transformation Strategy – Positioning Africa for the 4th Industrial Revolution (related to Agenda 2063 Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa)
3. Re-branding Africa – Changing Narratives and perceptions (related to Agenda 2063, Aspiration 7)
4. Promoting efforts towards the Economic and Financial Inclusion of African Women (Agenda 2063 Aspiration 6, AU Gender Equality and women’s Empowerment Strategy (GEWE);the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), and the AU Constitutive Act.
5. Promoting the Rights of Children in Africa (Agenda 2063 Aspiration 6, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children)

Pitches submitted must be in any of the 5 Award Categories and the stories should focus on the Africa’s Agenda 2063 and reflect the progress and/or impact of implementation of Agenda 2063 on African citizenry. Each pitch timeslot will last for 10 minutes. The applicants will be given 2-minutes to pitch after which the panel will ask further questions. Winners will be announced during the AWIM Gala Awards Dinner on 09 December 2022.

The stories must be evidence-based with clear reference on the sources of data. The final stories can be produced in either:

• Audio (radio/ podcast)
• Video format as film/ documentary or staggered series suitable for dissemination through broadcast or digital media platforms.
• A series of articles that must be published in credible publications accompanied with supporting imagery to enhance the storyline.

Women are the focus of only 10% of news stories, comprise just 20% of experts or spokespeople interviewed, and a mere 4% of news stories are deemed to challenge gender stereotypes. Studies show that men are more likely to be quoted than women in the media, and more likely to cover "serious" topics. (Source: UNESCO “Women Make News 2018”). The consequence of marginalising the voices and perspectives of women and the wider issue of gender imbalance in the newsroom are significant.

For further information, please contact:

Doreen Apollos | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission | Tel: +251 115 517 700 | E-mail: ApollosD@africa-union.orgl | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Directorate of Information and Communication I African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org

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