European Commission: Lorenzo Natali Media Prize 2024

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Objective

The Lorenzo Natali Media Prize has been run by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) since 1992.

The Prize is awarded to journalists in recognition of their reporting work on international issues, notably stories that shine a light on the most pressing global challenges.

The Prize commemorates the former Vice-President of the European Commission, Lorenzo Natali, who contributed significantly to the promotion and furthering of European development policies. 

Themes and categories

The Lorenzo Natali Media Prize recognises and rewards the endeavour of journalists who contribute through their investigative work to issues relating to:

• Climate, environment and energy;
• Digital and infrastructure;
• Gender equality;
• Human development;
• Migration and forced displacement;
• Peace and governance; 
• Sustainable growth and jobs; 
• Youth. 

Applicants must choose one of the four following categories when filling in the online form. The Prize is open to journalists in the following three categories:

• Best Emerging Journalist Award: reporting by journalists aged between 18 and 25 at the time of submission of their entry for the Prize and published by a media outlet based in any of the eligible countries.
• Investigative Journalism Award: reporting published by a media outlet based in one of the eligible countries whose objective is to uncover serious issues such as crimes, injustice, corruption or corporate wrongdoing and to expose these to the public. 
• Feature Journalism Award: reporting published by a media outlet based in one of the eligible countries focusing on entertaining, educating, informing or engaging the audience. Can take an in-depth look at a current event or situation, person or group. Can cover innovations and solutions to current challenges.
• Special Award: this award is intended to give visibility to other types of media. The 2024 edition will recognise photojournalism work published by a media outlet based in one of the eligible countries. For this category, only single frame photographs with a caption and a byline will be accepted.  

Eligibility

Format

Submissions can be submitted in the following formats:

• written
• audio-visual
• multimedia (such as interactive articles including charts, infographics, etc.). 
• single frame photographs (Special Award - photojournalism).  

Publication period

Entries must have been published or broadcast between 30 May 2023 and 29 May 2024. 

Language requirements

The Prize admits entries in all languages accompanied by a translation in one of these languages: English, French, Spanish, German or Portuguese when these are not the original languages of the reporting. Entries in languages other than English, French, Spanish, German or Portuguese will only be evaluated on the basis of the translated texts.

For written entries, the translations must be uploaded in Word or PDF format at the time of the entry submission. For audiovisual entries, the translated video/audio versions must be shared through an accessible link to a cloud storage and must accompany the application. Translations for written entries must not exceed 2,300 words and translations for audio-visual entries must not exceed 30 minutes.  

Length

For text-based entries, the length limit is 2,300 words. If the entry is longer than 2,300 words, a summary in one of the permitted languages mentioned above needs to be submitted along with the entry.  Video and audio entries can be up to 30 minutes long. If an entry is longer than 30 minutes, a summary in one of the permitted languages needs to be submitted along with the entry. For the Special Award - photojournalism only one image must be submitted and must be accompanied with a long description. The long description must explain the context of the photograph and if the photographer influenced the scene in any way. Applicants must ensure that their subjects’ consent has been appropriately handled with particular consideration for local and international laws and the ability to give informed consent. Multiple exposures, polyptychs (diptychs, triptychs, and so forth) and stitched panoramas, either produced in-camera or with image editing software are not eligible for the Special Award. 

Geographic eligibility

The location of the media outlet where the reporting was published determines the geographic eligibility of your application. The outlet’s office must be based in an eligible country. For example, reporting published in Reuters India is eligible, while reporting published in Reuters USA even if about India is not. The full list of eligible countries is here. 

Author(s)

Submitted reporting can have one or several authors. The applicants must be the authors of the work submitted in their name and be the holders of the copyright and the moral rights of their work. 

Previous winners

2023 winners cannot compete again for the 2024 Prize but are eligible for subsequent editions. 

Prize

Categories will not be awarded if quality is not met. Each winner will receive 10,000 €. If a coauthored entry wins, the financial prize will be divided between the authors. The winner of the Best Emerging Journalist category will also be offered a work experience opportunity with a media partner. The winners will be invited to participate in a ceremony in Brussels, the date of which will be made public in due course. 

Timeline

Apply via our online form between 29 May and 30 June 2024 23:59 CEST. Only one submission per applicant in one award category is allowed. 

The entries will go through a pre-selection phase carried out by five   journalism schools. The top pre-selected entries will then be judged by an independent Grand Jury, composed of experts from around the world. You can read about past members of the Grand Jury here. The decision of the Grand Jury shall be final and irrevocable.