Deadline: November 3, 2017 00:00 GMT
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Eligibility: Applicants must be citizens of a Commonwealth member country, excluding the UK. Entrants must be journalists or media managers, aged between 28 and 35, on April 1st, 2018.
Prize: a week’s intensive study of UK media organisations in London, with all expenses paid, 12 months’ mentoring by industry professionals

Commonwealth Digital Challenge 2017

The Elizabeth R Media Fund is launching a new competition – Commonwealth Digital Challenge 2017 – aimed at providing young and aspiring media managers from the Commonwealth with the skills and tools necessary to help their organisations face the digital challenges in their countries.

The event will also act as a spur to the competitors to discuss the needs of a free and competitive media across the Commonwealth.

The overall winner of Commonwealth Digital Challenge 2017 will be invited to spend an intensive 1-week all-expenses-paid study at the UK media organisations in London, during the week of the Commonwealth Summit in London in April, 2018.

It will be followed by 12 months’ mentoring by industry professionals overseen by the Thomson Foundation – the world’s longest-established media development organisation.

Competition rules

Entrants will be asked to submit a 400-word statement, in English, outlining a particular challenge posed to their organisation, or media sector, in their country together with a potential business case for how it could be addressed.

Twenty applicants will be invited to take three online modules in digital skills and newsroom management from the Thomson Foundation’s online Journalism Now programme.

The most successful of the 20, in the opinion of the judges, will be invited to spend 1 week at the UK media organisations in London, during Commonwealth Week 2018, followed by online mentoring by Thomson Foundation consultants for 12 months.

The winner will lead a virtual conference of the top 20 applicants and UK media mentors focusing on how the media can react to the challenges discussed during Commonwealth Week 2018.

Applicants must submit their initial entry by midnight GMT on Friday, November 3rd, 2017. Shortlisted applicants must be able to take the online modules between November 15th, 2017 and January 31st, 2018.

The overall winner will be expected to spend the week of April 16th, 2018 in London. If s/he is not able to do so, the prize will go to the second most successful applicant.

Entry criteria

• Applicants must be citizens of a Commonwealth member country, excluding the UK.
• The competition is open to journalists and media managers working for a media organisation in the public or private sectors.
• Entrants must be journalists or media managers, aged between 28 and 35, on April 1st, 2018.
• The competition organisers may request documentation to verify an entrant’s age and employment status.

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