2024 Journalism Award: call for nominations
February 27, 2024
Are you a journalist keen to experience first-hand some agricultural projects in a developing country that are changing lives for the better?
The Crawford Fund is today launching its 2024 Food Security Journalism Award. This award enables the winning journalist to undertake a ‘seeing is believing’ visit to a developing country, interacting with passionate researchers and local farmers, and then sharing their stories with the Australian public.
“This award is part of our efforts to draw attention to the significant impact of research to improve food and nutrition security, and the role that Australians and Australian support play,” said Cathy Reade, Director of the Crawford Fund’s Outreach Program. Cathy develops the program for the visit in consultation with the winner and project partners, and accompanies the winner on the trip to make sure all goes well.
“In over 30 years of Crawford Fund journalist visits, we haven’t had a hiccup and we basically go wherever there is interesting work around agriculture for development – from the Pacific to the Arctic, to South America and across Asia,” she said.
“The winner gets an extraordinary opportunity to experience and report on work underway. I have found that what the journalist (and I) enjoy the most is meeting the passionate men and women dedicated to improving food and nutrition security, and the farmers who benefit,” said Cathy.
“Due to a backlog of winners through the non-travelling COVID period, we did not have an award call in 2023 so we have a longer than usual window within which applicants can have produced their submitted piece of work” she explained.
Working journalists submit a piece of completed work on an issue related to food security and nutrition that is published (either in print, broadcast or online) between 01 January 2023 and the close of business on Friday, 26 April 2024.
Entries should then be submitted to Cathy by COB Friday, 31 May 2024, to be considered by a reviewing/judging panel.
The winner will be announced at the Crawford Fund’s annual conference, Australia’s key food security, held on 12-13 August 2024. Further details, including the application and judging processes, are available here.
Entries may touch on any topics that relate to the theme of global food security (food supply, production, R&D, trade, food loss and waste, biosecurity, training, policy issues etc.), but should not have just an Australian food security/supply focus.
Below are few of the most recent winners, and all past winners and their entries are listed here.
The perfect storm: Ukraine, Fertiliser and Fuel, Climate Change
Brett Worthington, ABC Radio, travelled to ICARDA in Morocco.
The little-known bush foods about to change the world
Natalie Parletta, a freelancer, travelled to the World Vegetable Center.
Coconut Comeback
Sean Murphy, ABC Landline, travelled to Nepal.
Cyclone Pam wrecks Vanuatu’s fisheries and damages crops and livestock of subsistence farmers
Sarina Locke, ABC Rural, travelled to Timor Leste.
Please do read the background document here for more information but if you have any queries, feel free to contact Cathy.
Don’t leave your entry to the last minute. If you have produced a food and nutrition security related article or broadcast between 01 January 2023 and the close of business on Friday, 26 April 2024, have a go!
