Accepting nominations for the 2023 Amnesty International Canada Media Awards

The Amnesty International Canada Media Awards — which will be handed out in person for the first time since 2019 — celebrate excellence in human-rights storytelling by Canada-based journalists and Canadian journalists reporting abroad.  

We invite reporters, editors, student journalists and media outlets across Canada to send their best human-rights-focused work. Please review the categories below as you prepare your submission.

Submissions will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 16, 2023. To be eligible for consideration, entries must have been published or broadcast in between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022.  

Contributors may nominate more than one work or submit for more than one category. One may submit their own work or nominate a piece on the creator’s behalf. (Please get the other person’s or group’s express and written permission before nominating them for an Amnesty International Canada Media Award.) 

A distinguished panel of judges will evaluate the submissions. Entries will be assessed on the quality and depth of the reporting and storytelling, how they centre the voices and agency of the people and communities at the heart of the issue, and how they present possible solutions.  

Amnesty International Canada will announce the winners in September. We will present the honours at our first in-person Media Awards ceremony in four years, to be held in Toronto in October. More details will be announced soon. 

2022-2023 Amnesty Media Award Categories

Entries must be submitted using the electronic form, ensuring all the required fields are filled out. Please ensure you have URLs for your work. By submitting your work to the Amnesty Media Awards, you permit it to be reviewed by the judges and highlighted in Amnesty’s communications.

national news story icon
National Written News Story
National news story of approximately 3,500 words or less on current or breaking news relating to a human rights issue.
apply now
long form video icon
Long-Form Video
Documentary or current affairs segments with a runtime of 10-80 minutes relating to a human rights issue. 
Apply now
mixed media story icon
Mixed Media
Online stories featuring at least three elements: text, photos, video, audio, animation and data visualization. 3,500-word maximum. 
apply now
Short-Form Video
Filmed news stories with a maximum runtime of no longer than 10 minutes highlighting a human rights issue. 
apply now
Long-Form Radio
Radio documentaries or current affairs programs with a maximum runtime of approximately 80 minutes highlighting a human rights issue.  
apply now
long form podcast icon
Long-Form Podcast
Podcast episodes with a maximum runtime of approximately 80 minutes highlighting a human rights issue.  
apply now
Local/Alternative Media
Current affairs or breaking news stories of 3,500 words or less relating to a human rights issue. Alternative media denotes publications that are not major private or publicly funded media outlets.*
apply now
Post-Secondary Youth
Text, audio, video or mixed media stories by post-secondary school students in Canada about a human rights issue. It must be published or broadcast by a media outlet associated with a post-secondary institution. 
apply now

*Alternative publications often have mandates to highlight stories and perspectives that are overlooked or underrepresented in the mainstream press.

2021-2022 Amnesty Award Winners 

  • Long-Form Podcast:Season Two of CBC Podcasts’s The Village, Justin Ling, Jennifer Fowler, Julia Wittmann, Eunice Kim, Arif Noorani, Chris Oke, Cesil Fernandes, Fabiola Melendez Carletti, Alex V Green, and Faith Fundal 

For more information about the Amnesty Media Awards, please contact Cory Ruf, Media Officer, Amnesty International Canadian Section (English-Speaking), 416-363-9933 x 344, mediaawards@amnesty.ca.