Rules
I. Participants:
1. All journalists, staff or freelance, may participate in the contest. They should be permanent residents of the country and work for local or national print media. National media journalists working abroad and correspondents of foreign media outlets living in the country may not apply.
II. Entries:
2. Each journalist is allowed to submit up to four (4) articles, with a maximum of 5,000 words each. The articles must have been published in newspapers or magazines in Guyana. Articles published only on Web sites or in newsletters will not be accepted.
3. For the 2006 Biodiversity Reporting Award, all entries must have been published between June 1, 2006 and May 31, 2007. Articles published outside this timeframe will not be accepted.
4. All entries must be received by the deadline of June 9, 2007. Participants must send the entire article as published, or a legible copy from the published article, and a completed submission form to CI-Guyana. Participants must also send a copy of the article on a computer disc (in PC format "Text" or "Word") or via e-mail must include the original article or a legible copy, and the same article in electronic format (on a disk or via e-mail).
5. A minimum of 15 entries, written by six different journalists, from three media outlets, is necessary in order for the contest to proceed. If this minimum is not met, the contest will be cancelled.
6. All entries must have been printed in an English-language media outlet.
7. All entries must cover the contest's theme, which is biodiversity. The organizers will not accept articles that fail to adhere to the theme of the award.
III. Prizes:
8. The award offers prizes to the three winners. The first place winner will win a money prize of G$160,000 Guyana Dollars and be invited to visit the Konashen District (the Wai Wai Community Owned Conservation Area), an area of great interest where very few people have gone.
9. The expense-paid visit includes:
a) Transport to the airport
b) Airfare
c) Accomodation
d) Meals
10. In addition, the first prize winner will also receive an award certificate and free one year membership with the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ).
11. If the winning article is produced by more than one journalist, the authors will choose one representative to attend the visit.
12. Travel expenses may not be substituted for cash.
13. Second and third prize winners will be awarded a cash award, and an award certificate. In 2007, second and third prizes are G$80,000 Guyana Dollars and G$40,000 Guyana Dollars, respectively and free one year membership with the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ). In case of a tie for second place (two journalists receive the same score) the cash prizes will be combined (G$80,000+G$40,000) and divided evenly between the two journalists, with each receiving G$60,000 and no third prize will be awarded. In case of a tie for third place, the two journalists will be granted half the cash prize assigned to the third prize winner, G$20,000 each.
14. In the event that the same journalist wins the first prize for two consecutive years, he or she will be assigned the prize designated for the second place, and the winner of the second place will receive the prize designated for the first place.
15 All award-winning articles will be available to the public at the Award's website, www.biodiversityreporting.org.
16. The organizers may choose to award a certain number of "Honorable Mentions" if the articles sent warrant it.
IV. Judges:
17. The judging panel is composed of five different professionals, with no conflict of interest with the participants in the contest. They may represent ICFJ, IFEJ and other local associations of journalists or independent organizations.
18. At least one judge will reside in the country where the award is being held, and at least one judge will reside abroad.
19. The judges will find all entries on a specific Website, created for the judging process. Each article will be identified by its title and a number. The date of publication, the name of the author and the name of the media outlet will be omitted.
20. The judges will work within a established timetable. If a judge fails to meet the deadline, his/her scores will not be taken into consideration in the final tally.
21. The judging process is based on five criteria. Each judge will be asked to give a score from zero to ten on the following criteria:
a) STYLE: The article is well written; the text is creative and flows well;
b) CONTENT AND INFORMATION: The story is informative, has the amount of information needed and the subject is well researched;
c) SOURCES: The article offers different perspectives, with a variety of sources;
d) READABILITY: The article translates scientific jargon and complex issues into language understood by general readers; and
e) TOPIC: The article covers the award's theme and focuses on biodiversity.
22. CI, or any other conservation organization partnering with CI, will not be involved in the judging process to avoid conflict of interest, since CI and its partners might be mentioned in articles. CI will only be responsible for the tabulation of scores sent by the judges.
V. Other Issues:
23. In case an unexpected issue or situation arises and it is not addressed in the rules, a committee composed by representatives of the partner organizations involved in the contest will meet to find the most reasonable solution. The final decision of the committee is unquestionable.
