Entries are now open for the Thomson Foundation’s Young Journalist Award 2026, one of the most prestigious opportunities for emerging journalists from across the world.

If you are 30 or under and reporting from a country with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of USD 20,000 or less, this is your chance to put your best work in front of international judges, editors, and journalists.

ELIGIBILITY:

To be eligible, you must:

Be 30 or under on 30 November 2026

Be from, or reporting in, a country with a GNI per capita of USD 20,000 or less

Submit three pieces of published or broadcast work, produced in the 12 months before 9 August 2026. These can be in print, audio, video or multimedia format

Send a verification letter from your editor, on official letterhead, confirming the work is yours and was published or broadcast. Freelancers can provide a letter from a commissioning editor or a journalism academic familiar with their work

Entries close on 9 August 2026.

BENEFIT:

Three finalists will be invited to London to attend the Foreign Press Association Media Awards on 30 November 2026, where the winner will be announced before an audience of leading figures in global journalism. While in the UK, finalists will also visit major newsrooms and take part in a bespoke training session designed to help them strengthen their reporting skills and professional networks.

What could the award mean for you?

If selected, you get the chance to bring your reporting to a wider international audience.

You get the chance to be recognized for journalism that has exposed wrongdoing, challenged injustice, explained complex issues, or given voice to people whose experiences are too often ignored.

You get the chance to stand alongside other young journalists whose work shows why independent, public interest journalism matters.

Whether your work is investigative, human-centered, visual, audio-led, data-informed, or multimedia, we want to see journalism with originality, courage, and impact.