Pristina, 29 April - Today the EC Liaison Office launched the journalist competition for best media coverage on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. The aim of the competition is to raise awareness and to provoke discussions and informed debate about this topic.

The competition is open to all journalists from Kosovo who are encouraged to look at initiatives and best practices taking place in public and in large buildings and households. The competition is part of a wider public awareness campaign and EU-funded support to the Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM).

There are two categories of the competition:

·    Best coverage of relevant policies and the application of Renewable Energy Resources for Kosovo,

·    Best coverage of relevant policies, technologies, developments relevant to Energy Efficiency at home, in public institutions and/or businesses.

In each category three prizes will be awarded; one for best TV coverage, best radio coverage, and best print coverage. The journalist providing best overall coverage in each category (regardless of the type of media) will win EUR 1000. The runners up will win EUR 500 each.  

Only published or broadcast stories of at least 200 words can enter the competition. They have to appear in Kosovo media from the date of the official launch of the Energy Efficiency Campaign (4 May 2010) and before 15 November 2010. The deadline for submissions is 24 November 2010.

All submitted material that fulfils the criteria will be judged by a team of local and international media experts. The prize awarding will take place in December 2010.

A workshop will be held at Kosovo Media Institute (KMI) to help provide more information about energy efficiency and renewable energy resources’ policies, technologies, trends, and stories. The materials from these trainings will be made available on the MEM website. The Energy Efficiency Campaign project is also available to answer any kind of questions about energy efficiency that journalists may have in the course of conducting research for their articles.

Delivery of submissions

All journalists should submit their works in hard copy versions of their articles/stories (newspaper copy for print, and DVD or audio CD for electronic media). The submitted material has to show clearly that it was published or broadcasted, with the exact date of the publication.

Please submit materials to the following address:

Scoring
The prize will be awarded to the journalists meeting the following criteria: 

1.    News worthiness and/or relevance; presented stories are clear and understandable for target audience (max 20 points);

2.    Accuracy of information; the facts are correctly presented by the journalist (max 20 points);

3.    Visuals and Originality; extra marks will be given for originality and in the case of TV and print also for good visuals (max 15 points);

4.    The article/programmer; articles should make reference to EU policies and/or trends in energy efficiency/renewable energy sources (max 20 points);

5.    EU demonstration projects; presentation of related projects financed by the EU (max 25 points).