The Shuki Journalism Award announces its fourth round

The Estonian International Development Cooperation Centre (ESTDEV), in conjunction with Jamnews, will be awarding three prizes quarterly to Georgian journalists for journalistic work from October, 2023 to August, 2024 under the project Establishing Journalism Grants and Awards to Encourage High Standards of Reporting in Georgia.

Objective  The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding journalism on a subject important to Georgian society, including political and social issues taking place in Georgia, civil society development in the Caucasus region, gender equality, freedom of speech and conscience, human rights compliance in Georgia and neighboring countries, Georgia-Russia and Georgia-Ukraine relations, and other topics reflecting Georgia’s place in the modern world.

Award Three awards of 1,000 euros each are given out each quarter. The award is given for specific work. If there is more than one author, the group of authors divides the prize money among its members at its discretion.

Application Journalists working in Georgia, regardless of nationality, can apply for the award. Authors themselves or professional media organizations and associations on their behalf may submit applications. To apply, the published material in the original language and a summary in English of up 600 characters (also for audiovisual material) must be submitted.

The submitted work must have been published in a Georgian print, audiovisual, or electronic media outlet between February 5, 2024 to June 5, 2024.

Author(s) The submitted work can have one or multiple authors. Applicant(s) must be the author(s) of the works and hold the related copyrights and/or moral rights. Applications may be submitted by the authors themselves or by professional media organizations and associations on their behalf. If desired, a journalist or a group of journalists can apply with more than one piece, but a separate application must be submitted for each piece. Plagiarism, i.e., unauthorized use and representation of another author’s text and ideas as one’s own, will result in removal from the competition. If plagiarism is discovered retrospectively, the award decision will be revoked.

Selection Criteria The winner will be determined based on the following criteria:

1. Relevance of the topic in Georgian society and contribution to the promotion of European civil society values and principles.
2. Quality content that should be well-documented, accurate, factual, and based on various sources.
3. Quality of language, style, and structure.
4. Originality and depth of topic treatment.
5. Societal reaction to the treatment of the subject.
6. Ethical research is expected that respects the confidentiality and privacy of sources.

Award Three winners will be selected quarterly. Each award sum is 1,000 euros. The jury reserves the right not to award all prizes if none of the submitted works meet the selection criteria.

Application Deadline Applications can be submitted by midnight Estonian time (EET) on the 18^th of June, 2024.

Determining the Winner  The jury consists of 5 representatives from Georgia, recognized in the fields of media, journalism, and civil society, selected by Jamnews, and one expert from Estonia, selected by the Estonian Association of Journalists. The jury selects the winning work by a simple majority.

The award recipients will be disclosed on the webpage.

ESTDEV will pay the award to the recipient’s bank account. Taxes are paid by ESTDEV.

Copyrights ESTDEV has the right to publish and distribute the winning works of the journalism award in its publications and on its website and in other notices and advertising materials. Copyright belongs to the author, and the author has the right to receive fair compensation for publishing their material in media outlets, excluding ESTDEV’s publications, website, notices, and advertising materials.

To apply for the prize, please please fill the form.