Fresh perspectives: Young Journalist Award 2022
This year’s award will be extra special for another reason, too. It will be the first time in two years that our three finalists will be able to attend the glittering ceremony in London in person. The pandemic of the past two years has meant finalists could only attend virtually.
For our 60th anniversary, there’s an added bonus which we’re calling ‘Connect 6’. To mark six decades of the foundation, our three finalists as well as the next three highest in our shortlist will have the opportunity to be mentored for six months by six established journalists from our alumni.
Entry form here.
For our 60th anniversary, there’s an added bonus which we’re calling ‘Connect Six’.
Entries are now open for the Young Journalist Award. It has given a boost to some brilliant journalists over the years, each one of them demonstrating a rich tapestry of investigative journalism, exposing social issues and holding power to account.
Previous winners of the prize include Sudanese journalist Yousra Elbagir, now Africa correspondent for Sky News, Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning documentary maker, Waad Al Kateab from Syria, and Peruvian journalist, Martin Leandro Camacho who has received a series of accolades since winning in 2020.
The three Young Journalist Award finalists will automatically qualify for the mentorship programme. The additional three will be selected from the shortlist of 12 to join them as part of our ongoing investment into ethical, independent and trusted journalism. If you are one of the selected six, you’ll be provided with a unique package of support and paired with an established journalist matched to your region from our extensive alumni network. You’ll learn from them how their exclusives and investigations have changed the world, and how yours can too.
In addition, all 12 journalists in the shortlist will be given space on our website and social media channels and receive a certificate from Thomson Foundation commending them on the high standard of their work.
Loyal supporters of the foundation will already know how the award works, but here's the lowdown for newcomers.
How it works
Now in its 10th year, the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award in partnership with the UK Foreign Press Association (FPA) is open to journalists aged 30 or under from countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of less than USD$20,000. Those who meet the criteria are welcome to submit a portfolio of three published pieces of work produced in the 12 months preceding the deadline for submissions, which is 12 August, 2022. They can be in any medium — print, audio, video or multimedia.
A panel of Thomson Foundation judges will tackle the substantial task of scouring through hundreds of entries, for stories that are revelatory, prompt public debate and have led to, or have the potential to lead to, positive change in society.
We draw up the shortlist of 12 then leave the final decisions to our international supreme court. Last year, we welcomed three independent FPA judges from Spain, Denmark and Bangladesh. This year’s external judges are Michael Crick, a British journalist for more than 30 years who was also founding member of Channel 4 News, Stryker McGuire, former senior editor at Bloomberg Markets, and Megha Mohan, the BBC’s first gender and identity correspondent.
The chair of the FPA judges will be Alessandro Allocca, a freelance journalist working for the Italian daily newspaper, La Repubblica.
Key dates
Deadline for entries: 12 August 2022
Entries must be submitted by 23:59 UK time on the night of deadline day
Long shortlist of 12 announcement: 28 September 2022, World News Day
Shortlist of six announcement: w/c 3 October 2022
Three finalists announcement: w/c 10 October 2022
Young Journalist Award winner announcement: 28 November 2022, FPA Awards
We look forward to seeing this year’s submissions for the Young Journalist Award. Good luck to all those entering.
How to apply
The entry form can be found here.
Visit our dedicated competition page to see our previous winners, find out what the judges are looking for and how you can impress them. For enquiries relating to your submission which are not answered here or in the entry form, email: awardfpa@thomsonfoundation.org
Kind words
Winning the award remains the pinnacle of many careers. Here, some of our previous winners explain how the victory positively impacted their journalism and why others should enter.
“I recommend journalists under 30 apply for this incredible opportunity. It opened so many doors for me. A huge thank you to Thomson Foundation for empowering local journalists” – Yousra Elbagir, Sudan, 2016 Young Journalist Award winner
“I was very honoured to receive this award. But it’s not just about the award, but the relationship and support received from the foundation after the award. It gave me a lot of confidence and hope that we, as new voices around the world, are heard” – Waad Al Kateab, 2017 Young Journalist Award (special recognition) winner
“The award has made me believe that everything is possible. Now sometimes I dream of winning a Pulitzer. I have become more disciplined in my work, I have more confidence in my pen and it’s encouraging to know that peripheral issues often ignored can garner worldwide media relevance and perhaps achieve a flash of justice” – Martin Leandro Camacho, 2020 Young Journalist Award winner
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