For the seventh year running, the BBC is looking for a budding African journalist to receive the BBC News Komla Dumor Award.
To find and support new talent from the continent, journalists from all around Africa are encouraged to submit for the award.
The winner will work for three months as a skill- and experience-builder at the BBC’s London headquarters. Applications close at 23:59 GMT on March 15, 2023.
The award was created in memory of the remarkable Ghanaian broadcaster and BBC World News presenter Komla Dumor, who passed away unexpectedly ten years ago at the age of 41.
Kwansema Dumor, the widow of Dumor, expressed her gratitude to the BBC for honoring her husband and stated she was “proud” of his contributions to the organization.
In an effort to recognize and honor exceptional journalistic talent across the continent, the BBC is urging journalists from all around Africa to apply for the prize.
In addition to training, the chosen applicant will get the chance to visit an African nation and cover a topic they have investigated, with the report being aired to BBC viewers worldwide.
Dumor left a lasting impression on both Africa and the rest of the globe. He was well-known for promoting lively, robust journalism and for his dedication to telling true and thorough tales about Africa.
Through the prize, the BBC is dedicated to carrying on his legacy by enabling African journalists to share unique and complex African stories with a global audience.
The winner from the previous year was Paa Kwesi Asare, a news anchor from Ghana who shares the same nationality as the late Komla Dumor.
He went to Kenya as part of his placement assignment to cover the movement to switch the “boda boda” motorbike taxis there from running on gasoline or fuel to electricity.
“Thanks to the award in Komla’s name, we have been impressed and delighted with the calibre of talent that has shone through,” stated Liliane Landor, senior controller of BBC News International Services.
“We wish to honor Africa’s outstanding journalism through his legacy.”
Focus on Africa was the BBC’s first-ever daily TV news program in English intended specifically for African consumers, hosted by Dumor. It aired on BBC World News, which united with the BBC News Channel to form a single 24-hour television news outlet last year.
He co-hosted the morning European edition of BBC World News as one of the main presenters.
After ten years of broadcast journalism in his home country of Ghana, where he was named Ghana Journalist of the Year, he joined the BBC in 2007.
Before joining The World Today program, he presented Network Africa on BBC World Service from 2007 to 2009.
