The Ashanti Regional Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has opened applications for the 2025 Ashanti Regional GJA Excellence Awards, inviting media practitioners across the region to submit their outstanding works for consideration.
In a statement issued by the Ashanti Regional Elections Committee on Wednesday, September 9,2026, said the award, which seeks to celebrate excellence and promote professional journalism, will recognise journalists whose work published or broadcast in 2025 made significant contributions to society and the development of the Ashanti Region.
This year’s awards are being held on the theme: “Celebrating Excellence, Championing Credibility: Journalism in the Age of AI.”
The initiative is expected to provide a platform for journalists to showcase their professional skills, creativity, investigative abilities and commitment to ethical journalism, particularly at a time when the media landscape is being transformed by artificial intelligence (AI).
According to the Regional Executive of the GJA, the competition is open to all media practitioners working in the Ashanti Region.
However, members of the Ashanti Regional Executive, the Awards Committee and members of the Awards Jury are not eligible to participate in the competition.
Entries must be works that were published or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2025.
Applicants are allowed to submit entries in a maximum of two award divisions, with not more than two published or broadcast works for each division.
The organisers have also cautioned applicants against submitting the same work in more than one award division.
All entries are expected to be clear, original and authentic published or broadcast works.
Applicants are further required to upload a recent passport-sized photograph as part of the application process.
The Association has advised prospective applicants to ensure that they have a stable internet connection when submitting their entries to avoid challenges during the application process.
Entries should be titled “Ashanti GJA Excellence Awards 2025” and must contain the applicant’s full name, media organisation, telephone number and email address.
The first division of the awards will focus on beat journalism, with awards to be presented in a number of categories.
They include Sports, Education, Investigative Journalism, Photojournalism, Arts and Entertainment, Business and Economy, Environment, Science and Climate, Health, Crime and Court, Agriculture, as well as the Community Impact Journalism Award.
The second division will cover Best Feature, Best Columnist and Best Documentary.
There will also be a special recognition known as the Kofi Badu Veteran Award.
The award has been instituted to honour veteran media practitioners who have made significant contributions to journalism and left an enduring mark on the profession.
The award is named after Kofi Badu, Chief of Staff to the Asantehene, and is intended, among other things, to strengthen the relationship between the Asantehene and the media fraternity in the Ashanti Region.
Journalist of the Year
A major highlight of the awards will be the selection of the Ashanti Regional Journalist of the Year.
The Awards Committee and the Jury will work together to determine the winner based on the quality, impact, credibility and overall standard of the entries submitted.
The organisers have also reserved the right not to present an award in any category where the entries fail to meet the required standard of excellence.
Promoting credible journalism
The Ashanti Regional GJA Excellence Awards are part of efforts by the Association to promote ethical journalism, media professionalism and press freedom while encouraging journalists to produce impactful stories.
By Benjamin Aidoo
