It’s another edition of the Komla Dumor award; a period when African journalists are given a huge platform to showcase their talents in a bid to get the top spot.
As the third year since the initiation of the award sets, BBC is set to receive entries for the third Komla Dumor award. Journalists from across the continent are invited to apply for the award, which aims at uncovering and promoting fresh talent from Africa.
As usual, the award winner spends three months at the BBC headquarters in London, gaining skills and experience. According to BBC, applications for this year’s edition of the Komla Dumor award will close on 15th March 2017 at 23:59 GMT.
The award was instituted in 2015 in honour of Komla Dumor, one of the greatest and passionate journalists at BBC World News, who died aged 41 in 2014. Komla Dumor died of cardiac arrest on 18 January 2014, at his home in London after being on air the day before.
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Komla was known for his unprecedented hard work and unequivocal dedication to telling the story of Africa, during his time at BBC. The passionate journalist left an indelible mark in the world of journalism through his outstanding contributions at BBC, hence the move to continue his legacy with the award.
In honor of the gem, BBC launched the BBC World News Komla Dumor Award. The platform seeks to award an individual with an outstanding approach in journalism.
The award is open for individuals living and working as journalists in Africa with 3 to 10 years experience in professional journalism in Africa. The individual must possess excellent journalism skills, in both digital and social media.
Among many other requirements, he or she must possess excellent broadcasting voice and strong presentation skills with the ability to perform at the microphone with flair. See requirements here.
According to BBC; The Komla Dumor Award will be given to an outstanding individual living and working in Africa, who combines strong journalism skills, on air flair, and an exceptional talent in telling African stories with the ambition and potential to become a future star.
The winner of the BBC World News Komla Dumor award will receive a once-in-a-lifetime training and development opportunity with the BBC in London, starting in early September 2017 and running for three months. The winner will work with teams from across BBC News. He or she will produce an African story for the BBC which would be shared across the continent and the world.
The winner will receive £2,000 per month for the three month placement to cover their living expenses and a one-off payment of £5,000 as a contribution to loss of salary in their home country.
The 2015 edition of the award was won by Nancy Kacungira, who worked as a prime time news presenter for KTN in Kenya. Didi Akinyelure, a Nigerian journalist who started out as an investment banker, was the 2016 winner. Nigeria’s winner went to the Ivory Coast to investigate new opportunities for the local chocolate manufacturing industry, during her placement.
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