Africa Science Journalism Awards (ASJA) 2025

Omran Aburayya
May 15
3 min read

If you're an African journalist, editor, or scientist passionate about communicating science, health, agriculture, or climate change, the Africa Science Journalism Awards (ASJA) 2025 presents a remarkable opportunity to gain recognition and support for your work. Organized by the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation), ASJA celebrates excellence in science journalism and aims to amplify credible science communication across the continent. The awards are supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ)

📰 ASJA Award Summary

Location: Africa
Host Institution: Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation)
Level: Professional journalists, editors, and scientists
Target Group: African journalists, editors, and scientists
Fields of Focus: Health, climate and environment, agriculture
Award Value : Monetary prizes ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, plaques, workshop participation, and potential site visits
Application Deadline: July 4, 2025, 17:00 EAT
Date: December 2025 (award ceremony)
Eligible To: African journalists, editors, and scientists residing in Africa

🧭 ASJA Overview

The Africa Science Journalism Awards (ASJA) is an initiative by the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) to recognize and honor outstanding science journalism in Africa. The awards aim to improve and increase coverage of science on the continent by acknowledging journalists, editors, and scientists who have made significant contributions to science communication. The awards focus on the thematic areas of health, climate and environment, and agriculture.

🏆 Award Categories and Prizes

Innovative Science Journalist: $3,000 Awarded to a journalist whose coverage demonstrates the impact of science or ignites conversations or systemic or policy changes that have contributed to improving the lives of Africans.
Science Journalism Media Organisation of the Year: $5,000 Awarded to a news organization whose coverage of science is shaping public perceptions.
Best News Story or Feature: $2,000 Awarded to a journalist who creatively provides insight into topical issues in science and whose consistent coverage is contributing to raising public awareness of issues related to health, climate change and environment, and agriculture.
Innovator Editors/Editors Award: $2,500 Awarded to editors whose newsrooms have championed the coverage of science with the goal to incentivize more editors to cover science.
Science Champion: $1,500 Recognition given to scientists and innovators who have used online and offline media platforms to raise the profile of their work and science on the continent.

🕵🏻 In addition to the monetary prize, winners will be given plaques at a key pan-African science conference. There is an opportunity for one or two of the winners to spend 3 days to a week at a partner academic or research institution within their country or regionally, meeting scientists to gain in-depth knowledge about a specific science subject. A pitch fee will be paid for a story that is published after spending time at the partner institution.

🎁 Programme Benefits

Monetary Prizes: Ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, depending on the category.
Plaques: Awarded to winners at a key pan-African science conference.
Workshops: Shortlisted candidates will participate in a specialized science journalism workshop.
Site Visits: Selected winners will have the opportunity to spend 3 days to a week at a partner academic or research institution.
Pitch Fee: Provided for any stories published as a result of engagement with partner institutions.

✅ Eligibility Criteria

Residency: Open to journalists who are citizens or permanent residents of an African country and who are permanently or primarily resident in Africa.
Publication Period: Submissions must have been published between January 2024 and June 30, 2025.
Media Type: All categories are open to entries from print, broadcast, and online media.
Thematic Focus: Submissions must align with the SFA Foundation’s thematic areas of health, climate and environment, and agriculture.
Editors: Applicants for the Editor’s Award must represent publications based only in Africa.
Language: Submissions in local languages must be accompanied by an English translation.
Transparency: Applicants must disclose if their submitted story was supported by a reporting grant, received an external reporting fee, or benefited from any external assistance.

📝 Application Procedure

Submission Platform: All entries must be submitted through the Agaseke Grants Management System (Agaseke GMS).
Entry Limits:
- Innovative Science Journalist: 1 entry
- Best News Story or Feature: 2 stories
- Editor’s Award: 3 stories
- Science Champion: 1 story
Required Documents:
- Published stories/articles
- English translations if applicable
- Disclosure of any external support
Deadline: All applications must be submitted by July 4, 2025, at 17:00 East African Time (EAT).

📅 Important Dates

Application Deadline: July 4, 2025, 17:00 EAT
Award Ceremony: December 1–5, 2025, at the World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) in Pretoria, South Africa.

📬 Contact Information