JOURNALISM FOR DEVELOPMENT: EUROPEAN COMMISSION LORENZO NATALI MEDIA PRIZE

Deadline: Feb 18, 2019  
CALL EXPIRED

Submit your entry for the 2019 Lorenzo Natali Media Prize between 18 February and 14 April 23:59 CET via our online platform here(link is external).

All information about the application process can be found in the Terms and conditions.

LORENZO NATALI MEDIA PRIZE AT A GLANCE

The Lorenzo Natali Media Prize was launched in 1992 to recognise excellence in reporting on development issues, inequality, human rights, and poverty eradication. It was created by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), and named after Lorenzo Natali, an early champion of European development policy.

Today, the Lorenzo Natali Media Prize’s community of past winners, jury members and partners have created a platform supporting reporting on development. The Prize also gives a voice to those whose vital message is often overlooked or ignored.

The Prize is organised by the European Commission in close collaboration with strategic regional partners and ambassadors. 

THEMES

The overarching theme of the 2019 Lorenzo Natali Media Prize is journalism for development. Entries to this year’s competition should relate to to development cooperation issues such as, but not limited to, youth, gender equality, health, climate change, etc.

The European Union and its member states jointly provide over half of all official global development aid, making it the world’s leading donor. The New European Consensus on Development aligns the EU with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

CATEGORIES AND PRIZE

The 2019 Lorenzo Natali Media Prize will be awarded in the following three categories: 

• Grand Prize: open to journalists whose media headquarter is located in one of the more than 160 partner countries* with which the European Union engages on development and cooperation.

• Europe Prize: open to journalists whose media headquarter is located in one of the countries of the European Union.
• Best Emerging Journalist Prize: open to journalists under 30 whose media is headquartered  in any country where DG DEVCO and DG NEAR provide development assistance*, as well as in the EU Member States.

* Full list of countries can be found here. Geographic eligibility is based on the headquarters’ location of the media outlet where the work was published. The media outlet must be headquartered in eligible countries.

The winner in each category will receive €10,000. The winner of the Best Emerging Journalist Prize category will also be offered a work experience with a media partner.

Winning journalists will receive their award at the Lorenzo Natali Award Ceremony at the 2019 European Development Days, which take place in Brussels on June 18-19, 2019. For more information on how to apply, click here.

LORENZO NATALI

Lorenzo Natali’s name is synonymous with the Prize that bears his name, which is awarded to media professionals who defend the freedom of expression, democracy, human rights and development. The Prize has become an integral part of the European Commission’s development policy for more than 20 years.

Lorenzo Natali was born in Florence, Italy, on October 2, 1922. He served three terms as one of Italy’s European Commissioners. The first was between 1977 and 1981 under President Roy Jenkins, when he was Vice-President with responsibilities for enlargement, the environment, nuclear safety, and relations with the European Parliament.

Natali played an important role in the EU membership negotiations with Greece and helped launch the accession process with Spain and Portugal. He also helped enact key measures to combat pollution and improve living conditions across Europe.

Natali was re-appointed as Commissioner in 1981, and serving again as Vice-President in Gaston Thorn’s Commission, but for Mediterranean policy, enlargement and information. 

In his final four-year term as Commissioner, from 1985 until 1989, he was handed responsibility for cooperation and development policy in the Commission under President Jacques Delors. It was in this capacity that he set up a broad network of relations with the governments and leaders of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

Lorenzo Natali died in Rome on August 29, 1990. 

THE JURY

Entries will be pre-evaluated by three journalism schools: the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) Vesalius College, Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme PRO Montpellier, and Universitat Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona, and supervised by Dr. Georgios Terzis, Communication Professor at VUB. A final pre-selection of nominated pieces of journalism will be put forward for further evaluation by the Grand Jury, composed of journalism experts working in different areas of development.