BACKGROUND
The Rwanda Data Journalism Awards (RDJA) is NISR's initiative recognizing outstanding works in the field of data journalism in Rwanda. The mission of this award is to promote excellence and creativity in the reporting of statistics-based stories to the Rwandan public in this data revolution era when journalistic reportage requires practices that include statistical analyses, interpretations and visualization to tell complex and sensitive stories in simple and convincing way. RDJA is normally organized yearly and winners are announced during the celebration of the African Statistics Day. The awards are given to exemplary data-driven stories and programs that use data to have a good impact on the society.
In that context, journalists with authorization by a relevant institution in Rwanda, will be invited to produce a winning data story that present results from the previous rounds of Population and Housing Censuses.Winners in Three categories (Online, radio and TV) will be announced and awarded in December 2021, while cerebrating the African Statistics Day.
COMPETITION MESSAGE
The competition message of this year will be the Rwanda Population and Housing Censuses. Journalists are requested to tell/write stories using key statistical highlights from 3rd and 4th Population and Housing censuses and tell what Rwanda is expecting from the 5th Population and Housing Census.
RDJA CATEGORIES
Category One: Excellence in Online Data Journalism
Description:Best interactive or static visualization combined with a story which accomplish a journalistic purpose and use data significantly in an online media.
Open to individual journalists (online)
- Prize: Certificate and Laptop
Category Two: Excellence in Radio Data Journalism
Description: Best data-driven journalism in radio news stories or programs.
- Open to individual journalists(Radio)
- Open to media houses countrywide.
- Prize: Certificate and Laptop
Category Three: Excellence in TV Data Journalism
Description: Best data-driven journalism onTV news stories or programs.
Open to individual journalists (TV).
- Prize: Certificate and Laptop
RDJA 2021 ELIGIBILITY
The Data Journalism Awards competition celebrates outstanding work in the field of data journalism in Rwanda. Awards can be won by any accredited media organization, or individual journalists in Rwanda.
- We actively seek submissions from online and broadcast journalists and bloggers. Entries can have been published, broadcasted or aired in English, Kinyarwanda or in French, and must have appeared between 1st January 2021 and 30th November2021.
- Individual journalists and freelancers on accredited media houses are eligible for the Data Journalism Awards. Works produced by individuals or teams of journalists from media companies and non-profit organizations, as well as freelancers or individuals are all eligible for entry.
- Works produced by staffers or freelancers collaborating with government agencies, business or trade organizations with a stake (financial or of other nature) in the issue at hand are not eligible. In other words, the awards are not given to business data visualizations or projects produced for branding purposes.
- The RDJA administrators have the final authority to determine whether an entry is eligible or not.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Applicants must be Rwandan citizens or permanent residents, and the submitted work must have appeared in an accredited Rwandan-based media between 1st January 2021 and 30th November 2021.
The following two points describe a set of criteria that will be considered in the evaluation of the submissions in all categories:
- Easy of understanding what the data is saying by enabling greater public understanding of a particular topic through accurate data representation, visual elegance, creativity, originality and uniqueness of informative infographic, or other visualization techniques used to present data in a journalistic story or program.
- The content should be people-centered by linking data to human lives and welfare, and have a good balance of subjectivity and objectivity.
- Impact of the entry on improving the understanding of the population of the data and on its general contribution to increase statistical literacy amongst Rwandans through accessible analysis, explanation, and statistical conceptualization used in a story or program.
- Quality of content, and variety of subjects covered.
- All the data quoted should clearly indicate year and source of the data.
ENTRY INFORMATION
- Entries are allowed to have been published or aired on any media platform (Online, print, radio and TV)
- All entries must be accompanied by submission form that include:
- Description of the entry, less than 100 words
- Biography of the writer(s), less than 100 words
- Confirmation of the date published
- Entry Formats:
- Online: link to the online article or newspaper radio or podcast: link to mp3 file either through an active URL or an archived link
- Television/YouTube/other video: link to an active URL
- All submission forms must be filled in English. Entries in languages other than English will be accepted provided that they are accompanied by thorough explanations of the work in English in submission form. If a work originally published in a language other than English passes the pre-jury selection stage, applicants may be asked to provide additional information and translations if possible.
- There is no submission fee.
SUBMISSION PROCEDURES AND DEADLINES
- The competition's submissions will close on 30th November 2021 at 23:59 GMT.
- Submission entries through Links or URLS should be made through online submission form accessible from NISR website by November 30th, 2021 at 23:59 GMT.
Winners in Three categories (Online, radio and TV) will be announced and awarded in December 2021, while cerebrating the African Statistics Day.
Question can be emailed to luc.kabera@statistics.gov.rw or nobert.habimana@statistics.gov.rw or Call 0788216358