2 March 2023
The Day launches its second Global Young Journalist of the Year competition today, following the success of the first contest in 2022.
The 2023 competition will be judged by Dr. Stuart Lawrence, author of the book Silence is Not an Option and brother of murdered British teenager, Stephen Lawrence. Also on the panel are Laura Bates, the writer and founder of The Everyday Sexism Project, Tom Chivers, author and writer at Semafor, Stephanie Hegarty, the BBC’s Population correspondent and The Day’s founder, Richard Addis.
Lawrence said: “I’m so pleased to announce that I am a judge for The Day’s Global Young Journalist Awards 2023, I’m looking forward to being part of a panel that gets to see and listen and watch these fantastic entries from young people all around the world, and I can’t wait to hear from your perspective what is important to you and what is going on for you in your world.”
Bates said: “I am thrilled to be a judge for the Global Young Journalist Awards this year. I’ve seen first-hand in my work how vital good journalism is for society and how powerful stories can be in creating positive change. So I can’t think of anything more important and exciting than supporting the next generation of journalists to find their voices, own their stories, and have the confidence to speak out!”
Megha Mohan, the BBC’s first gender and diversity correspondent, and judge of the 2022 competition said: “I was blown away by the standard. The standard for the young journalists was as high in all the categories as for very experienced reporters.”
The inaugural awards attracted more than 500 entries. The Day’s founder, Richard Addis said: “The aim of the awards is to inspire future generations of journalists to build a better world through storytelling. Our ambition is to be the leading award for youth journalism worldwide.”
The competition has a wide variety of categories and welcomes entries from those aged 5-18 divided into groups of 10 and under, and 11 and over. Entries can be submitted in a variety of media formats.
“Getting involved in journalism builds a number of skills, from storytelling, communication, research, global awareness and fact-checking,” said Addis. “It touches many points on the school curriculum, and it helps boost young people’s confidence and literacy skills more generally.”
It’s free to enter and teachers can register to find out more and receive a welcome pack here. The deadline for entries is April 19, 2023, with a virtual awards ceremony planned for June 15.
Lincolnshire student Zohra Ehsani won the International Journalist of the Year category in 2022 for her article on The Silenced Women Under the Taliban.
She said: “Getting this award gave me confidence in what I can actually do. There are people in the world that dream of having an education and opportunities like this. It taught me that I can do a lot of things if I put my heart into it.”
The Climate Journalist of the Year in 2022 was Francoise Khyla, 13, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose entry was submitted from her primary school in Uganda’s vast Nakivale Refugee Settlement refugee camp.
With an ambition to become a television reporter, she compiled a passionate and articulate video urging her fellow refugees to clean up plastic waste and plant more trees.
Her story was featured on children’s news magazine programme Newsround. “I really want to change the world,” she said.
The categories for entries this year are:
- Climate Journalist of the Year
- Equality Journalist of the Year
- Media Journalist of the Year
- Mental Health Journalist of the Year
- Anti-Racism Journalist of the Year
- Sports Journalist of the Year
- Health Journalist of the Year
- Science Journalist of the Year
- Financial Journalist of the Year
- Gender Journalist of the Year
- Technology Journalist of the Year
- Politics Journalist of the Year
There will be one winner and one runner-up per category, per age group (according to the student’s age on January 1, 2023). As well as a trophy and certificate, winners will receive feedback on their work from a team of journalists and have their entry published on The Day’s website. They will also
be invited to the virtual awards ceremony featuring our celebrity judges.
Our supporters
This year, the awards are being supported by these amazing organisations:
Hello World, Fairtrade Foundation, Voice 21, NACE, National Literacy Trust, School Library Association
For more information, please contact gyja@theday.co.uk
