GlaxoSmithKline backs developing world coverage
 
GSK, the global pharmaceutical and healthcare company, is sponsoring an international development journalism competition to promote coverage of crucial developing world issues. It was launched in April in partnership with The Guardian newspaper, eight international NGOs and the UK Department for International Development (Dfid).
 
The competition aims to find exciting new voices in journalism among students and amateur writers as well as professional freelance journalists. A shortlist of 16 finalists will be chosen from an initial long list of 40, based on articles submitted by early May. Each of the finalists will be given a topic to cover and will fly out to a country in Africa or Asia with representatives from the Guardian and the supporting NGOs. They will then write an in-depth newspaper feature based on research and interviews with local people, officials and NGO workers.
 
All 16 features will be published in a special Guardian newspaper supplement and the winners (one professional and one amateur) will be announced at a gala event in London in November 2008.
 
GSK chief executive JP Garnier says the competition provides an opportunity to showcase the heroism of people working against the odds in developing countries. “I have seen myself the work of healthcare professionals, heroes to my mind, who fight an impossible fight against diseases like Malaria, TB and of course HIV/AIDS. There are many tremendous stories among the conflict and political unrest, disease and poverty – stories about people of remarkable character, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit.”
 
For more information, see www.guardian.co.uk/developmentcompetition