The Qarib Journalism Awards 2025 recognize, support, and amplify impactful journalism and storytelling from Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon that bring forward underrepresented, marginalized voices and perspectives, while upholding the highest ethical and professional standards.

The region continues to face overlapping crises marked by conflict, political instability, socio-economic pressure, climate change, environmental degradation, corruption, and weak governance structures. These challenges profoundly shape everyday life, particularly for women, youth, people of diverse gender identities, and marginalized communities, whose experiences are often overlooked in public discourse. All award categories therefore emphasize reporting from the perspective of marginalized communities.

In the context of Qarib, marginalized communities refer to groups and individuals experiencing political, economic, social, legal, or environmental marginalization. As a result, groups such as women, youth, displaced people and refugees, ethnic or religious minorities, informal workers, rural communities, and others affected by conflict, corruption, or weak governance often bear the greatest social, economic, and environmental costs. This includes situations where communities are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental harm, while also being excluded from fair access to resources and from decision-making processes that shape their land, water, and livelihoods.

Qarib recognizes gender diversity and understands gender as a spectrum. This includes women, men, and gender-diverse and gender non-conforming people, whose experiences are often further marginalized in contexts of conflict, socio-economic pressure, and restricted civic space. Women’s rights, in particular, remain a central focus, both in terms of who is reporting and whose realities are being reported on.

Journalists, storytellers, and content creators working on these issues frequently operate under severe constraints, including political pressure, security risks, limited financial resources, and emotional strain. Despite these challenges, many continue to produce courageous, innovative, and socially relevant work that serves the public interest and strengthens accountability.

The call is open to journalists, storytellers, and content creators, and welcomes a wide range of formats, including online journalism, video and mini-documentaries, creative digital productions, and audio formats such as podcasts or long-form audio.

We look forward to your participation!

The categories:

• Best climate and environment reporting

Awarded for outstanding coverage of climate change and environmental challenges, highlighting community-led responses, sustainable initiatives, and local resilience.

• Best women’s rights and gender-sensitive reporting

Awarded for digital stories that center women’s perspectives, rights, and lived experiences — including those of gender-diverse and gender non-conforming people.

• Best reporting on socio-economic issues and local governance

Awarded for reporting that examines local governance, economic inequality, and socio-economic challenges, and their impact on marginalized communities.

• Best coverage of youth concerns by youth (18-30 years old)

Awarded for storytelling that highlights youth perspectives, concerns and youth-led initiatives, civic engagement, and social innovation, particularly in digital formats.

• Best investigative reporting on corruption affecting marginalized communities

Awarded for investigative journalism that exposes corruption, abuse of power, or lack of accountability, and demonstrates how these dynamics disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

The price:

In each category, Qarib will award three winners: 

• 2000 USD for the first place,
• 1500 USD for the second place,
• 1000 USD for the third place.

The 15 award winners will be honored at a ceremony in Amman at the end of June 2026. The Qarib program will cover all expenses for the winners to attend the event.

Eligibility:

• Practicing individual freelance journalists, storytellers, and content creators, teams of journalists, staff journalists from media outlets in Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon are eligible to apply, working according to journalistic standards enshrined in the Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists of the International Federation of Journalists
• All journalistic formats and forms are eligible, i.e. videos, print and online articles, radio reports and podcasts as well as TV and multimedia reports, columns, feature, investigative reports and photo stories published in media outlets and on social media. 
• Submitted contributions must have been published between 01 January 2025 and the end of the application period on 01 March 2026.

The jury and their selection criteria: 

The five-member jury will consist of experienced media professionals from the Middle East, representatives of CSOs, and think tanks. They will apply the following criteria:

1. Representation: How well does the reporting represent marginalized voices and topics, particularly those of women.
2. Originality: The award recognizes original, creative and innovative approaches to format and reporting, particularly those that break stereotypes and challenge traditional narratives.
3. Accuracy and depth of the reporting.
4. Ethical Standards of the reporting, particularly in terms of impartiality, fairness, and balance.
5. Public Service: The jury also considers how the reporting served the public interest, particularly by providing valuable information and analysis to the public.

How to apply:  

1. Fill in the application template (through Qarib Award 2025 platform). Note that the written content must be translated into English, for the audio content an English summary must be provided, the video content must have English subtitles. Eventual expenses must be borne by the applicants and have to be taken into account when applying. 
2. You will receive an automatic response that confirm that your application has been received.
3. Send it no later than 01 March 2026 at 8:00 PM Amman time 
4. If you have any questions contact us through the following email info@qaribmedia.com

Timeline: 

• Application deadline: 01 March 2026 at 08:00 PM Amman 
• Notification of winners by 20 May 2026
• Award ceremony in Amman at the end of June 2026

About us: 

The Qarib program (www.qaribmedia.com) supports social cohesion and positive democratic developments by improving the representation of minorities and marginalized voices and topics in national and regional discourses through support to media in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine. Qarib is funded by the French development agency AFD and implemented by the French media development agency CFI.  

Apply now