Award for young women journalists

The Jayaraman family and the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) jointly announce the Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award for young women journalists for the year 2008.

The Award had been set up in the memory of Anupama Jayaraman, a young and promising Bangalore-based journalist who passed away in January 2006. Anupama was not only multi-talented and energetic, but she also demonstrated a keen interest in issues of human rights and social justice.

The Award is one of several efforts undertaken by her family to keep her concerns and ideas alive. It is meant to encourage and honour young women journalists who, like her, believe in meaningful journalism and have the courage and determination to write on issues relating to human rights and social justice. The Award will include a citation and a cheque for Rs. 15,000.

The 2008 Award will be for a woman print journalist in India. This year the Award has been extended from only English to include two other Indian languages: Kannada (since Anupama was based in Karnataka) and Marathi (since the Award will be presented at an event in Pune). Efforts will be made to add more languages in the coming years.

The 2nd Anupama Jayaraman Award will be presented at the 6th Annual Meeting of the Network of Women in Media, India. The ceremony will be part of the three-day meeting hosted by the Network of Women in Media, Pune, from the 8 to 10 February 2008. A jury of eminent citizens, including senior journalists, will judge the entries and select the next recipient of the Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award.

Objectives
> To encourage, support and honour young women journalists writing on human rights, social justice and people-centred development.
> To nurture and sustain idealism, enthusiasm and constructive professionalism among young journalists.
> To promote and strengthen journalism that cares.

Themes
The broad themes to be addressed in the entries are human rights and social justice, especially in the areas of basic needs (including access to natural resources), gender equality, and the environment. For the 2008 Award the theme is: human rights and water.

Eligibility Criteria
The 2008 Award is open to Indian women journalists aged 25 or less, working in or contributing to the print media in India in English, Kannada or Marathi. All woman journalists in this age group, including independent (freelance) journalists, are eligible.
The Award is for a body of work represented by three articles published over a two-year period (the 2008 Award will be for articles published between 1st September 2005 and 30th October 2007)
At least one of the articles from the set of three should be on human rights and water. The others can be on the broader theme of human rights and social justice. Among journalists who make it to the short list, those from rural backgrounds and from Dalit and Adivasi communities will be given special consideration.

Guidelines for Nominations
> For the 2008 Anupama Jayaraman Award all nominations must be received by 25 November 2007.
> Please write “Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award 2008” on the envelope. Nominations, sent to the address below, must include:
> A short write-up on the nominee and her contact details (including postal address, phone number and e-mail ID).
> Three bylined articles relating to this year’s specified topic (the original and 1 xerox copy of each of the three submissions must be submitted).
> All nominations must be typed; all submitted articles must be printed/published.
> For all articles published in languages other than English, an English translation signed by the author must be attached along with the original.
> Besides editors and other media professionals, members of the reading public are also welcome to send in nominations.

When couriering/speed-posting or posting the nominations, kindly send an email, or call on one of the contact numbers and provide the following details:
> Date of dispatch
> Consignment number
> Name of courier/postal service used

Other Details
> The Awardee and the person who nominated her will be personally informed about the jury’s decision by 8 January 2008.
> Information about the outcome of the Award process will also be disseminated through various media, NWMI e-groups and the NWMI website.
> A jury of five eminent citizens, mainly journalists, will select the Award winner; their decision will be final.

Address for couriering/posting nominations
Open space
125/ 1, 15th cross, 5th main, 2nd Block,
R.T. Nagar, Bangalore, India-560032
Phone-080-23534797

For enquiries:
E-Mail: award.aj@gmail.com

Phone:
(0) 94484-84797 (Anita Cheria)
(0) 98455-57378 (Shubha Narayanan)
(0) 94483-40817 (M. Radhika)
(0) 92421-50045 (Nirmala Jayaraman)

Tags: Award, women journalists

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