Every year during the annual African Women in Media Conference, journalists are given the opportunity to pitch their story ideas to organisations who have partnered with AWIM to create a platform for female journalists and other media practitioners to engage and discuss key issues of the day.

The AWIM Pitch Zone is unique in its setting in that it provides journalists a setting where they can showcase their creativity and ultimately be awarded the funding that will support their ambitions to see their stories come to life and give a voice to the communities represented in their final work.

AWIM have partnered with the African Union to sponsor the 2022 Pitch Zone during the annual AWIM 2022 to be held in Fez, Morocco.  To participate, interested journalists will be required to submit written pitches for any of the 5 award categories which they will defend before a group of judges during a live pitch event to stand a chance at winning reporting grants up to $3000 USD.

The winners of the Pitch Zone will receive grants from the African Union which will be in recognition of their submissions reflecting the Aspirations and Goals of Africa’s Development Framework, Agenda 2063 and the opportunities for fostering Africa’s socio-economic growth through the implementation of Agenda 2063.

The 5 Award Categories are:

1. AU Theme of the Year 2022 – The Year of Nutrition “Strengthening resilience in nutrition and food security on the African continent: Strengthening agro-food systems, health and social protection systems for the acceleration of human, social and economic capital development.”
2. Africa’s Digital transformation Strategy – Positioning Africa for the 4th Industrial Revolution (related to Agenda 2063 Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa)
3. Re-branding Africa – Changing Narratives and perceptions (related to Agenda 2063, Aspiration 7)
4. Promoting efforts towards the Economic and Financial Inclusion of African Women (Agenda 2063 Aspiration 6, AU Gender Equality and women’s Empowerment Strategy, GEWE; African Charter on The Rights of Women in Africa, AU Constitutive Act)
5. Promoting the Rights of Children in Africa (Agenda 2063 Aspiration 6, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children)

Pitches submitted must be in any of the 5 Award Categories and the stories should focus on the Africa’s Agenda 2063 and reflect the progress and/or impact of implementation of Agenda 2063 on African citizenry.

The stories must be evidence-based with clear reference on the sources of data.

The final stories can be produced in either (i) audio (radio/ podcast) or (ii) video format as film/ documentary or staggered series suitable for dissemination through broadcast or digital media platforms (iii) a series of articles that must be published in credible publications accompanied with supporting imagery to enhance the storyline.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

1. To be eligible to pitch, you must attend the AWiM22 conference either in-person or virtually. Click here to register. Once you register, you will be given access to the conference app where you can book your timeslot for your live pitch
2. One must be a female journalist and a citizen of any of the 55 Member States of the African Union, working in an established media organisation or accredited as a journalist by the relevant governing authority of the AU Member State.
3. Read and understand the 5 Award Categories and identify the preferred category for pitching
4. Research your chosen category and prepare your 2-minute pitch. Each pitch timeslot will last for 10 minutes. After your 2-minute pitch, the panel will ask you further questions.
5. Familiarise oneself with the Rules and Guidelines for participation below
6. Winners will be announced during the AWIM Gala Awards Dinner on 09 December 2022. Following the awards, AWiM will be in touch with further details.

Rules and Guidelines

1. Media practitioners will prepare a two-minute pitch that they will present live to a panel of judges who will be representatives from the awarding organisation.
2. Participants must be at least 18 years of age.
3. Only those registered to attend the conference in person or virtual are eligible to pitch
4. Joint pitches are permitted.
5. Pitched stories must result in substantial outputs like a podcast series, audio-visual content etc. with clear strategies for dissemination and promotion.
6. Pitches should be in English or French. However, the eventual outputs must be in at least two of the official African Union languages. The official languages of the African Union are; English, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili and Spanish.
7. The selected finalists must have their work published on credible media outlets.
8. Once selected, the winners will receive cash grant awards from the African Union to produce the stories pitched. The selected winners will be expected to produce news stories that give a continental perspective of the issues they will pitch on.
9. Any entries that are late, illegible, fraudulent, or which bring/would be likely to bring the reputation of the African Union and/or, African Women in Media, into disrepute will be rendered ineligible to participate in the Awards and will be disqualified.
10. Once selected, winners will be required to provide a production schedule with a timeframe of production of the news stories, the broadcast schedule and the intended use of the funds.

Evaluation Criteria

1. The panel of judges will be determined by the African Union
2. Judges reserve the right not to select entries that do not meet the required standards.
3. Judges reserve the right to transfer entries for consideration in other categories at their discretion.
4. The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Click here to book your slot: https://doodle.com/bp/janetotieno/awim22-pitch-zone-

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