The Marseille-Provence-Alpes du Sud Press Society, in partnership with Reporters Without Borders, is organising the "International Award for Freedom of Speech."
This 5 000-Euro award was created as a tribute to Anna Politkovskaļa, Hrant Dink and through them, to all journalists who have died defending their freedom to inform. It will reward the authors of a leading article, report, investigation or interview bringing a free and independent vision, devoid of all official or conventional language, to an event or political, social, economic or environmental situation, which must have been either published or broadcast between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007.
The award is open to all professional journalists, whatever their nationality, working for an international, national or regional media organisation.
The application forms must include:
For press: an original of the published article (15,000 characters maximum), mentioning title and date of publication, along with an unsigned transcription of the article without the byline.
For television (12 minutes maximum), a VHS copy
For radio (6 minutes maximum), a cassette or CD.
The press articles and TV and Radio reports should be supplied with a French translation. If this is problematic, an English translation will be accepted.
The jury consists of six professional journalists and four qualified personalities selected by the Commission of the Marseille-Provence-Alpes du Sud Press Society. The results will be announced on 1 December 2007, during the Festival du Grand Reportage (International News Coverage Festival) in Marseille.
The applications should be sent to the headquarters of the Press Society and be postmarked 15 September 2007 at the latest. Address: Club de la Presse Marseille-Provence-Alpes du Sud, 12 rue Breteuil, 13001 Marseille, France.
The full rules of the International Award for Freedom of Speech may be requested at the following email address: c-presse@wanadoo.fr
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)