Deadline: January 12, 2026
Entries are invited for the Voices Awards 2026. The Voices Awards are an international competition rewarding innovative ideas and changemakers in the fields of journalism and media freedom. The Voices Awards are organised within the Voices Festival, an itinerant event co-funded by the European Union to celebrate Journalism and Media Freedom in Europe.
The Voices Awards aim to celebrate the diversity of contemporary journalism and comprehensively cover the different media and formats that journalists employ to effectively convey their stories. The Awards will also recognise media literacy initiatives and international best practices in journalism. Proposals are welcome for initiatives that address pressing public issues, expose wrongdoing, contribute to greater transparency and accountability of those in power (investigative journalism, explanatory journalism, local and community journalism, data journalism, human rights journalism, public service journalism etc.).
Categories
The Voices Awards comprise the following seven categories:
- Radio & Podcast Journalism Award (4 awards)
- Video & Documentary Journalism Award (4 awards)
- Digital Storytelling and Social Media Award (4 awards)
- Cartoons Award (4 awards)
- Photojournalism Award (4 awards)
- Media Literacy Award (4 awards)
- Lorenzo Natali Prize – International Best Practices in Journalism (1 award)
Prize
- The Voices Awards will celebrate 25 remarkable achievements, each with a €1,200 monetary prize. This amount is intended to cover both the prize money and the necessary travel and accommodation expenses for the winner to attend the Voices Festival in Florence on 10 – 12 March 2026, where the awardees will be publicly presented.
Eligibility
- Applicants may be natural persons or legal entities (public or private bodies).
- Entries may be submitted by any of the following applicants:
- media outlets;
- freelance journalists;
- students at journalism schools;
- trainee journalists;
- individuals or groups active in media literacy activities.
- In order to be eligible, the applicants must be legally residing or be established in the 27 EU Member States, candidate countries and potential candidates: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
- Only for the Lorenzo Natali Prize – International best practices in journalism (category 7): in order to be eligible, entries must be submitted by applicants legally residing or be established outside the EU27.
- Entries must focus on current news and public affairs content, demonstrating a clear emphasis on content of public interest and democratic relevance.
- The applicants must submit publicly available outputs (or works) produced in the 12 months prior to the publication of this call for entries.
Application
The deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM (CET) on 12 January 2026.
For more information, visit Voices Awards.