Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards

The Wikimedia Foundation launched the Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards in 2023 to celebrate the contributions of journalists in Africa who prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in their reporting.

The awards recognize the essential role journalists play in creating well-researched articles that volunteer editors can use as source materials to develop content on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. Their work helps to grow the knowledge base on one of the world’s most visited websites, so that it is more reflective of the topics, events and people that influence the understanding of culture and history through the ages.

Between May 3 and June 30, 2023, over 2,000 submissions were received from 37 African countries. The award recipients were announced on November 4, 2023.

Award recipients

Journalist Carlos Mureithi from Kenya was announced as the first place award recipient for the article “How a ‘headstrong historian’ is rewriting Kenya’s colonial history“.

Nigeria’s Osaruonamen Ibizugbe was recognized as the second place award recipient for her article “FGM: Survivors narrate experiences dealing with absence of the clitoris“.

There were also four articles receiving Special Mentions:

Arts, Culture, Heritage, and Sports: Aanu Adeoye (Nigeria), “The Benin Bronzes and the road to restitution” (Financial Times)
Digital and Human Rights: Philip Obaje Jr. (Nigeria), “The silencing of Sudan’s journalists – again“, (Al Jazeera Journalism Review)
Health, Climate Change, and Environment: Jackson Ambole (Kenya), “How Mombasa’s yoghurt cups powered a reforestation drive“, (Al Jazeera)
Women and Youth: Jacqueline Muchazoreka (Zimbabwe), “The story of how a Zimbabwean woman treated obstetric fistula despite criticism from her church & community” (BellaNaija)

You can learn more about these articles in the official announcement press release. You can read more about the rules that led to their selection below.

Partners

The Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards would not have been possible without the support and collaboration from Wikimedia Foundation staff across departments, the Wikimedia community of volunteers, partners and members of the journalism community in Africa.

Special thanks go to the Wikimedians who helped us to develop the award, including identifying award categories and helping with the shortlisting process: Anass Sedrati, Bobby Shabangu, Ceslause Ogbonnaya, Daniel Abugre, Derrick Ndahiro, Douglas Scott, Euphemia Uawadu, Geoffrey Katerrega, Olushola Olaniyan, Reda Benkhadra, Romeo Lomora, and Terry Boke.

Thanks also go to the selection committee members: Abigail Larbi Odei, Programme Manager, Media Foundation for West Africa; Professor Anton Haber, Investigative Journalists Conference; Femi Oke, international journalist and co-founder of Moderate The Panel LLC; Patience Nyange, Executive Director, Association of Media Women in Kenya; and Professor Winston Mano, University of Westminster’s Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI).

We also acknowledge the support of partner organizations that helped us to promote this initiative: Africa.com, Association of Media Women in Kenya; Kenya Union of Journalists; Media Council of Kenya; Media Foundation for West Africa; Media Institute of Southern Africa; Novus Group; and the South African National Press Club.

Award criteria

Geography: Journalists must be citizens of a country in Africa, and primarily reside on the African continent.
Relevance: Articles should be about the African continent, and relate to the award categories (listed below).
Publishing date: Articles should have been published between January 1, 2022 to June 23, 2023.
Language: Articles should be published in English.
Originality: The articles should be your own original work, with in-depth analysis and/or investigative reporting.
Proof of publication: Submissions will be easier to review if you supply proof of the article’s publication in the form of a link/URL.
Reliability and accuracy: Articles that are submitted must be accurate and well researched, without seeking to misinform or misrepresent facts. Objective, well researched articles ensure that the information on Wikipedia is accurate.
Ethical conduct: Because the Wikimedia Foundation respects human rights, we are looking for articles that are developed with the utmost respect for people. We seek journalists who demonstrate ethical conduct and adherence to journalistic standards.
Accessibility: Wikimedia Foundation promotes access to free knowledge. Because of this, articles must be made available for viewing without a paywall.
You can submit as many articles as you would like to be considered for this recognition. However, you cannot submit the same article in more than one category. You have to decide which category best represents the contents of the article.
There are no fees associated with this nomination process.
Wikimedia Foundation staff are not eligible to nominate their own work.
The Wikimedia Foundation (in collaboration with volunteer Wikimedia editors), through its discretion, will use these nominations to help identify journalists for this recognition.

What we are offering award recipients

First-place award recipient: will receive USD 2000, a trophy, a certificate of recognition and an opportunity to join Wikimedians at the African Regional Community Conference, Wiki Indaba, in November 2023. While there, the award recipient will have the opportunity to share more about their experiences as a journalist and some of the challenges and opportunities they see in their work.
Second-place award-recipient: will receive USD 1500, and a certificate of recognition.
Special Mentions: will be given by the Wikimedia Foundation to an additional four nominees, one in each category.
All awardees (including those receiving special mentions) and their work will be celebrated on the Wikimedia Foundation’s website and social media channels.

Key dates

Submissions open: May 3, 2023, 00:00 UTC
Submissions close: June 30, 2023, 23:59 UTC
Awardees announced: November (3–5) at the Africa Regional Community Conference Wiki Indaba.

Frequently asked questions

No. Only self-nominations are being accepted.

This year’s awards are focused on articles published in English. We are not accepting translated articles. There is an intention to expand to other languages in the future, based on the learnings from our first year of running the awards.

No, personal blog posts will not be considered for the awards. Articles should be included in media outlets that have a history of publishing well researched content.

The awards are open for written, published articles. Broadcast programs will not be considered for this iteration of the awards.

African Wikipedia editors acknowledge that online sources are much more “accessible and easy to verify”. We are only accepting articles that come with a verifiable URL or web link.

This award seeks to recognize journalists who are living on the African continent and writing stories about Africa.

Yes. African members of the Wikimedia community that are living in Africa and are also journalists can nominate published articles to be considered for the award.

Articles can be published in international outlets. As long as they are about Africa, and by African journalists living on the continent.

Feel free to contact us on this email: journalism-awards [at] wikimedia [period] org.

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