Thank you to everyone who entered. Everyone who shared. Everyone who encouraged a colleague, a friend, a fellow journalist to submit their work. This wouldn’t have happened without you.
The Climate Media Awards closed at midnight on Monday South African time with 430 entries from 23 African countries.
Journalists who took time to submit their investigations. Community radio hosts who shared their broadcasts. Farmers who documented their work. Students who entered their first stories. TikTok creators who thought their posts didn’t count as “real journalism” – but entered anyway. Freelancers juggling deadlines who still found five minutes to fill in the form.
Thank you to the organisations that shared the call with their members. The editors who forwarded the email to their newsrooms. The influencers who posted about it. The networks that spread the word across borders. You amplified this beyond anything we could have done alone.
And thank you to everyone who creates climate content without recognition. Who documents floods in their communities. Who interviews farmers about failed crops. Who explains water crises to audiences who are living through them. Who shows renewable energy solutions that actually work. Your work matters. This response proves it.
Now comes the next part. Six judges are reviewing 430 entries to decide who wins R130,000 in prizes across four categories.
Scott Hosking from Africa Climate Ventures is reviewing the agricultural entries. Patrick Smith from Africa Confidential brings decades of African reporting experience. Scrolla’s political editor Zukile Majova – who farms in the Eastern Cape – knows both the newsroom and the ground level. Africa Melane from CapeTalk and 702 understands what resonates with audiences. Rochelle de Kock from Arena Holdings led digital transformation at The Herald. Tiisetso Motsoeneng from Business Day covers how business navigates South Africa’s challenges.
Four categories. R130,000 in prizes. Best Written Article pays R20,000 for first place and R10,000 for second. Best Audio or Video has the same prizes. Best Social Media Post too. And Best Agricultural Story – the biggest single prize at R30,000, sponsored by SRI-2030.
We created the agriculture category because farming is one of our best tools to fight both hunger and climate change. As Scrolla’s Zukile Majova argued in The Africa Report and in his Friday column, smart farming methods are transforming communities across Africa. The 56 agricultural entries show people are documenting this work.
Climate journalism isn’t just about documenting problems. It’s about showing solutions. Giving people hope. Showing what’s possible when communities take action.
“Community media reporting of climate change is crucial,” Zukile said when we launched these awards. “It takes what used to be an elite debate into an everyday discussion for the ordinary person.”
That’s what we’re seeing in these 430 entries. Not elite debates. Everyday discussions. The grandmother in Soweto who can’t afford vegetables. The farmer in Limpopo watching rain patterns shift. The family in Durban whose shack floods every summer. The community in Lagos installing solar panels.
These aren’t international headlines. But they’re the stories that matter most. And you told them.
The judges are deliberating now. Winners will be announced soon.
Thank you again. For entering. For sharing. For caring enough about climate journalism to make this happen.
430 entries. 23 countries. Your stories. Africa’s climate reality, documented by the people living it.
Note: All prizes are paid in South African Rand. For non-SA residents, payment may be made in USD at the live exchange rate.
