Radio Workshop’s This Coal Life IDA's Best Standalone Audio Documentary

Image supplied. Radio Workshop’s This Coal Life has been named the Best Standalone Audio Documentary at the International Documentary Association’s (IDA) Awards

The IDA Documentary Awards is dedicated exclusively to the documentary genre, celebrating and honouring the year’s best nonfiction films and programmes.

This Coal Life follows the Skhosana family, who built their lives on coal. But South Africa is moving away from it in favour of greener, cleaner energy in what the government has called the “Just Transition".

The world is watching to see how South Africa and families like the Skhosanas are going to pull it off.

The episode tells the story of how the lives of coal families across the country are going to change drastically in the coming years.

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Earlier this year it also won a number of awards, including the Podcast & Radio Award at the One World Media Awards in London as well as being finalists for both Best Documentary at the Ambies and Best Serialized Story at the Third Coast International Audio Festival.

This Coal Life also aired on NPR’s daily news podcast Up First in September of this year.

“We’d like to thank the Climate Emergency Collaboration Group and the African Climate Foundation for their support in producing this story and congratulate the Radio Workshop podcast team on their incredible work; Lesedi Mogoatlhe, Dhashen Moodley, Siya Mokoena, Jo Jackson, Qhamani Sambu, Mike Rahfaldt, and Rob Rosenthal,” says Yumna Martin - Radio Workshop Board chair, Linda Barnett - US Radio Workshop Friends chair and Emmanuelle Parr - UK Radio Workshop Friends chair.

“Thank you to the International Documentary Association for this recognition and for helping spotlight youth-reported stories from Africa,” says the three.