THE 29TH ANNUAL AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CANADA MEDIA AWARDS

First held in 1996, the Amnesty International Canada Media Awards celebrate excellence in human rights storytelling by Canadian-based journalists and Canadian journalists reporting abroad. Past Media Award winners include some of Canadian journalism’s most recognizable and groundbreaking players. Past winners include the CBC’s Anna Maria Tremonti and former Globe and Mail foreign correspondent Stephanie Nolen, as well as student journalists shining a light on powerful human rights stories with connections to campus.

While no ceremony is slated for the 2024 instalment of the Media Awards, organizers are planning an in-person awards ceremony for 2025, when Amnesty International Canada will celebrate the Media Awards’ 30th year.

To be eligible for consideration, entries must have been published or broadcast in Canada between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024. Please review the categories below as you prepare your submissions. 

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

Submissions will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. 

SUBMIT ENTRY

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CANADA MEDIA AWARD CATEGORIES

Our judges consider the following award categories.

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National Written News Story
National news story of approximately 3,500 words or less on current or breaking news relating to human rights issues.
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Long-Form Video
Documentary or current affairs segments with a runtime of 10-80 minutes relating to a human rights issue. 
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. 
Short-Form Video
Filmed news stories with a maximum runtime of no longer than 10 minutes highlighting a human rights issue. 
Long-Form Radio
Radio documentaries or current affairs programs with a maximum runtime of approximately 80 minutes highlighting a human rights issue.  
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Long-Form Podcast
Podcast episodes with a maximum runtime of approximately 80 minutes highlighting a human rights issue.  
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.*
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. 

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

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2022/2023 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CANADA MEDIA AWARD WINNERS

The 2022/2023 Amnesty International Canada Media Awards celebrated the best human rights reporting by Canadian-based journalists and Canadian journalists working abroad.

Among the 2022/2023 winners were richly reported, expertly told stories digging into the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s struggle to defend its rights and territory, the heartrending plight of a Hazara Afghani family dreaming of freedom and safety in Canada, and the bewildering disappearance, death, and growing legacy of human rights defender Karima Baloch.

Amnesty International Canada handed out the honours on Thursday, October 19, 2023, in Toronto at the organization’s first in-person Media Awards ceremony since 2019.

Local/Alternative Media

“The last of the untamed: Wedzin Kwa and the Wet’suwet’en fight to save her,” Brandi Morin, with photographs by Amber Bracken, Ricochet.

Long-Form Audio

Ep. 1, “The death of an icon,” The Kill List, Mary Lynk, Ilina Ghosh, and the team at CBC Podcasts.

Mixed Media

“The complicated truth about pipelines crossing Wet’suwet’en territory,” Matt Simmons, with maps by Shawn Parkinson, The Narwhal.

National Written News

“Children of former guard at Canadian embassy in Kabul attacked in Pakistan as family waits for help from Ottawa,” Janice Dickson, The Globe and Mail.

Post-Secondary Youth

“Transforming Indigenous healthcare, one person at a time,” Anne Fu, The Queen’s Journal.

Short-Form Video

“You can say ‘Hockey is for everyone.’ Or you can join the fight to ensure that’s true,” Donnovan Bennett, with cinematography by David Zelikovitz, Sportsnet.

Previous Award Winners