New edition of the Francophone Media Innovation award

The International Organisation of La Francophonie, Radio France Internationale and Reporters without Borders launch the six Francophone Media Innovation Award, a prize that support the freedom of the press, and the right to information in French language. The call for applications, open until August 31 is open to all medias of the 88 member States and government of the Francophonie network. 

The Francophone Media Innovation award addresses to all types of medias (radio, television, written press and others), as long as they are in French and have developed innovative offers “taking into account the new modes of consumption and access to information”.

Several types of innovation taken into account

As the name indicates, the Francophone Media Innovation award aims to support and foster several types of innovation, and particularly:

- editorial innovation in contents: contents must be designed according to audiences (particularly young people), local backgrounds and the way information is selected, ranked and put in language and/or represented;

- innovation in uses from the point of view of “users”: information must be accessible on all supports, according to local social backgrounds;

- innovation in the business model of medias and organisation: funding and performance of the media are examined (collaborative funding, innovative advertisement, innovative payment access), but also design of contents (participatory or contributory).

A framework of conditions for participation

Rules of the competition are precise and well-defined. They specify what is meant by “media”: a company “under the editorial responsibility of a publisher and whose main purpose is to communicate information to the public” via electronic communication networks (radio, television, internet) or the press, “with the aim of informing, entertaining and educating”. The rules also stipulate what is meant by the term “information”: a journalistic treatment “aimed at selecting, prioritising and putting into perspective the political, economic, social, judicial, cultural or scientific news of a member country of the Francophonie”.

In addition, candidate medias must publish their content in French and must be independent of any political party or religious association. The content broadcast by the candidate media “may not undermine respect for human dignity or incite discrimination”.

Fifteen laureates since the creation of the Award

Since its creation, the Francophone Media Innovation Award awarded about 15 laureates out of 150 projects analysed. In 2020, for its 5^th edition, three news media were awarded:

- the first prize went to Congo Check, an information website specialised in fact-checking based in  Democratic Republic of the Congo, and highly active in the struggle against misinformation during the Ebola epidemic and the Covid-19 pandemic;

- the second prize went to La Maison des Reporters, an independent and participative information website offering surveys and audiovisual work on social issues in Senegal ;

- and the third prize went to Haïti Climat, a website dedicated to the environmental issues and good practices in ecology and architecture in Haiti.

In 2021, the laureates will be chosen by a jury including promoters of the Award (representatives of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, Radio France International and Reporters without Borders), and other global profiles from French-speaking medias. The three candidates awarded will receive €15,000 (first prize), €10,000 (second prize) and €5,000 (third prize) during a ceremony that should be held in November.

More about the award: 

- International Organisation of La Francophonie website