Dubai: The Dubai Press Club, the General Secretariat of the Arab Journalism Award, on Sunday announced that it has opened submissions for the tenth edition of the awards and invites journalists from across the Arab world to send in their entries before the deadline on January 29.
A new Board of Directors set up in July and led by Khalfan Al Roumi, former Minister for Ministry of Information and Culture in the UAE, will oversee the awards over the next three years.
For the first time, online publications are allowed to participate in all categories.
In a move to encourage in-depth, yet simplified treatment of specialised subjects in all areas, the categories of Journalism for Children, Health Journalism, Environmental Journalism and IT Journalism have been included under a new umbrella category titled "Specialised Journalism".
This new category for journalists below the age of 30 has been included with a view to recognise up-and-coming young talent in the region’s media and encourage more youngsters to take up journalism as a profession.
In another first for the awards, media organisations are allowed to nominate the work of their staff members. Journalists are also permitted to nominate themselves directly.
Maryam Bin Fahad, Executive Director, Dubai Press Club, said: "The Arab Journalism Award has increased its focus on the youth through the introduction of a new category – Specialised Journalism. In addition, we have incorporated a revised structure that encompasses a much wider range of journalistic work. With organisations welcome to nominate their staff members, the modus operandi of the awards programme has become far more inclusive."
In a departure from previous editions, the 10th Arab Journalism Award will allow journalists to submit his or her work in one category alone with three samples of work each.
The categories of Photo Journalism, Outstanding Cartoon Works, Young Talent Journalism and the Best Newspaper Column’ categories will, however, permit the submission of five entries from each contesting participant. The Best Newspaper Column prize will be judged by the AJA Board of Directors directly.
The judging committee, comprising five to six panelists for each category, is in the process of being finalised.
The panels will include 60 distinguished media professionals who will evaluate and shortlist the winners. The judges are selected anew for each edition and in line with the General Secretariat's transparency code, the names will remain confidential until the announcement of the awards.
Last year, a total of $220,000 in cash prizes were given away. The awards body received more than 3,500 submissions from 19 Arab countries in all 12 categories.
Details on the categories as well as the terms and conditions for Arab Journalism Award 2011 are available on the AJA website www.arabjournalismaward.com.
