The Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) Isu Elihle Awards 2026 for African Journalists.

Application Deadline: 4 June 2026

Applications are now open for the 2026 Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) Isu Elihle Awards. The Isu Elihle Awards were launched in 2016 by MMA ,with the support of Save the Children International, the Swedish International Development Agency and Media Network on Child Rights Development (MNCRD) based in Zambia. Since 2020, the awards have been funded by UNICEF. “Isu Elihle ” is an isiZulu phrase and could be translated into English as a beautiful, great or simply a neat solution.

Competition Stages

First Stage: Submission of the story idea (4 May – 04 June 2026)

• Journalists submit their story ideas before or on the deadline (04 June 2026 at 23:59PM CAT). These ideas will go through an adjudication process, undertaken by a panel of judges made up of children, child rights experts and independent media practitioners. Following the adjudication process, the top six finalists will be announced online and across social media platforms and where possible on mainstream media.

Second Stage: Producing and publishing the full story.

• The top six journalists will be given financial support of up to R10 000 each to research and develop their concepts into publishable news items, which will then be published or broadcast, by a mainstream news media house of their choosing. Please note that individual journalists must take sole responsibility to approach a mainstream media house and secure an agreement to publish/broadcast with the media house in question should their story idea be selected as part of the top six. 
•  The top six stories will undergo adjudication and only the top three are guaranteed to win a cash prize. There is a fourth cash prize, that is “The Isu Elihle Mandy Rossouw Accountability Category” (MRC). This fourth prize is conditional, it will only be awarded if there is a story (in the top six) that meets the criteria for the category. The amount of money to be awarded for the Mandy Rossouw prize will be determined by the quality of the story published.

Requirements

• The Competition is open to professional journalists, whether directly employed or freelancers, working in the continent of Africa.
• The Competition is held in English. Therefore, all entries and story ideas must be in English.

Prizes

*Please note that it is possible for one of the top 3 winners to be selected as the winner of the Mandy    Rossouw Category. In this case they would take two cash prizes. It is also possible that the MRC will not be awarded to any participant based on the judges’ decision.

Application Timeline

*Please note the timeline above is subject to change and due notice will be given should it change

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) Isu Elihle Awards