Entries open for the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award 2025

Now in its 13th year, the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award, in partnership with the UK Foreign Press Association (FPA), is open for entries. The award is seeking submissions from journalists aged 30 or under on 24 November 2025, who are from and currently residing in countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of less than USD20,000.

Eligible journalists are invited to submit a portfolio comprising three published pieces of work. These pieces must have been produced within the 12 months preceding the submission deadline, which is midnight (London time) on 1 August 2025. Submissions can be in any journalistic medium, including print, audio, video, or multimedia.

Eligibility and Submission Requirements – Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award 2025

To ensure your submission is valid, please verify that you meet all the criteria listed below. Entries failing to meet these mandatory requirements will be disqualified.

1. **Age:** Entrants must be 30 years of age or younger as of 24 November 2025.

2. **Location:** Eligibility is restricted to journalists from and living in countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of USD20,000 or less. Entrants must be from a country meeting this GNI criterion and report from/in that country. Alternatively, if reporting from outside their country of origin, it must be from another country that also fits the same GNI criteria. To confirm if your country is eligible, please consult the World Bank data here: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD

3. **Portfolio:** Each submission must include a portfolio of three published or broadcast journalistic works. These works must have been produced within the 12 months immediately prior to the submission deadline of 1 August 2025.

Submissions can be in any format: print, audio, video, multimedia, or a combination. Applicants should preferably provide URL links for online work. For other formats (e.g., scans of print articles, large audio/video files), applicants may utilise file-sharing platforms such as Google Drive. A written statement, not exceeding 200 words per story, must accompany the portfolio. This statement should summarise the content of each piece and describe any impact it had on public discourse in the country of publication or broadcast.

4. **Language:** Entries may be submitted in any language. However, a verbatim English-language translation must be provided for all submitted works.

5. **Verification:** All entries must be accompanied by a letter from the applicant’s current editor, printed on official company letterhead. This letter should verify that the submitted work is the published work of the entrant. For freelance or self-employed journalists, verification can be provided by an editor from one of the publications/websites/broadcasters where the work was featured, or by a journalism academic familiar with the entrant’s work.

**A verification letter is a mandatory component of your submission.** Please send this letter via email to AWARD [email protected], ensuring your name is clearly stated in the subject line. Please note that verification letters will *only* be accepted via email; all other submission materials should be provided through the online entry form.

6. **Collaboration:** Should any of the submitted stories involve collaboration with colleagues or external organisations, a clear explanation of this collaboration must be provided.

7. **Plagiarism:** Rigorous checks for plagiarism will be conducted. Any entrant found to have submitted work that is not their own will face automatic disqualification.

Application – Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award 2025

• The competition is now open for entries. For full details of the conditions of entry and for the entry form, please click here.
• Should you have specific enquiries about your application not addressed in the guidelines, please direct them to: [email protected]
•  Deadline is August 1, 2025
• FOR MORE DETAILS CLICK HERE