Refugee Festival Scotland Media Awards
Rewarding responsible reporting on refugee issues in Scotland.
The Refugee Festival Scotland Media Awards celebrate exceptional journalism covering refugee and asylum issues.
The awards honour the vital work journalists do in building understanding around forced migration and its impact on individuals and communities.
Well-researched and responsible reporting on these issues is more important than ever.
The Refugee Festival Scotland Media Awards are coordinated by Scottish Refugee Council in partnership with the National Union of Journalists Scotland. We are grateful for support from UNHCR UK, UNESCO-RILA and other partners.
Journalists are invited to enter their own work or nominate the work of colleagues. Members of the public are also encouraged to nominate examples of excellent journalism that covers refugee issues with fairness, accuracy and sensitivity.
Categories
Independent media: Stories, podcasts or radio published or broadcast on independent platforms.
Written news: A written news report on a current and/or breaking story. This can be print, online or multimedia.
Features: A written newspaper, magazine, online or multimedia piece that creatively explores refugee issues.
Broadcast: A piece of filmed news or reporting, documentary or non-factual piece broadcast on TV or digital channels.
Radio: This can include news reports, a full-length radio documentary or excerpts from a magazine programme.
Local media: This category covers local and regional Scottish media and includes print, online and broadcast.
Get inspired by last year's winning entries
Read or view some of the 2024 Refugee Festival Scotland Media Award winners.
Eligibility
Entries must be about refugee and asylum issues in Scotland and/or produced by a journalist living and working in Scotland.
- You can enter your own work, or nominate outstanding pieces of work by other journalists
- All entries must be published or broadcast between 1 May 2024 and 1 May 2025
- Journalists can enter a maximum of one piece of their own work per category. You can submit different entries for different categories if applicable.
The deadline for submissions is Monday 5 May 2025.
Judging criteria
Entries will be judged by a panel drawn from the NUJ, Scottish Refugee Council and other agencies within the refugee and human rights sector, representatives from refugee communities in Scotland and others with expertise on issues around forced migration.
Judges are looking for work that:
- Displays depth of understanding and insight into issues related to forced migration.
- Is honest, accurate and well researched.
- Gives voice to the refugee experience and/ or to individuals from refugee communities.
- Has the potential for powerful impact on audiences.
- Contributes to a wider cultural understanding of refugee experiences and of asylum as a human rights issue.
- Promotes the highest standards of responsible use of language and representation of refugee issues.
The judges' decision is final. Judges will not enter into any correspondence regarding the judging of the competition.
How to enter
Step 1: Complete the online entry form.
Step 2: Remember to include a link to your entry in the form
If you have any questions, contact us at mediaawards@scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk