The Panos Institute West Africa (PIWA) invites print and broadcast journalists from West and Central Africa to participate in the information communication technology (ICT) media production contest.. The contest is an effort by PIWA’s to improve journalists’ understanding of issues related to ICTs.

The contest falls under the project called "Print media in West Africa: mediator for information society issues", financed by IDRC. It also forms part of CIPACO, the Centre for International ICT Policies in West and Central Africa, which was put in place under the CATIA programme of DFID - the British Government’s Department for International Development.

Journalists who wish to take part in this contest should submit an original article or a radio production on the keynote theme: ICT, democratic governance and development in West and Central Africa. The article or radio production should focus specifically on one of the following issues:

• Mobile telephone use in social exchanges (new uses) or in developing economic activities;
• Implementing ICT policies in ECOWAS or CEMAC (comparative analysis of at least two countries, presentation and analysis of regional policies, etc.);
• Utilising ICT to reinforce democratic governance or local governance (decentralisation, administrative or public affairs management, elections, citizen watch, etc.);
• Combining the use of radio with the new information technologies;
• Marginalised Group (women, disabled persons...) access to digital communication devices;
• African actors engagement in regional and international ICT governance.

The articles should contain between 6000 and 9000 characters. The radio production should be between five and ten minutes long. It should be ideally processed and put together, not just a simple report.

All applications should include the following:

• One or two articles in French or in English on one of the topics proposed (if the article has already been published , attach a photocopy of the newspaper and/or address of the website where it was published, including the date of publication);
• OR one or two radio productions in French or English between 5 and 10 minutes long (give precise references on the media in which it was broadcast, if this is the case);
• A letter signed by the journalist to attest that the article(s) or radio production is/are original (i.e. have not yet been published), if that is the case;
• A detailed CV that shows, if need be, a list of previous articles or radio productions on ICTs (mentioning the newspaper / website where they were published, the date of publication, etc.);
• A document attesting that the candidate is actually a journalist in a press organ.
• An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent accordingly, via e-mail and within 48 hours, to applicants whose files have been received.

PIWA will award four prizes to the best articles and the best radio production in the contest. For Print Media, first prize: F CFA 1, 000, 000 plus an invitation to the official prize-giving ceremony. Second: F CFA 500, 000. A special CIPACO prize of F CFA 500.000 will be awarded to one of the articles that provides a good analysis of regional or international ICT policies. For Radio, a cash prize of FCFA 500, 000 will be awarded to the journalist with the best radio production. The reference currency is CFA franc. Prizes will be paid in CFA or the local currency of recipients.

For more information click here.