World Young Reader Prizes opens for entries

The awards in five categories - Editorial, Making the News, Newspapers in Education (NIE), Public Service, and Brand - will honour newspaper companies that have devised the best projects and activities during the past two years to promote newspaper reading and usage, on all platforms, among those under 25.

Two special categories for 2012 are "Enduring Excellence," to honour young reader programmes that have continued delivering benefits for both the newspaper and the young for at least two years, and "The Natasa Prize for Printing Plants," for a newspaper printing plant action that teaches the young about journalism.

Judges are looking for innovative strategies that produce measurable results, particularly those that can be adapted for use in other countries. Use of multiple platforms is particularly encouraged.

Entries for all categories require creating a PowerPoint presentation following prize guidelines. Full details and online registration can be found here.

The top prize in each category is €1000 and free registration to WAN-IFRA's first Asia Pacific Young Reader Summit, set for 10-11 July in Bangkok, Thailand, where the awards will be presented. Judges will also choose a "Young Reader Newspaper of the Year."

In 2011, the Jawa Pos newspaper of Indonesia earned that honour, while the prizes in the various categories honored 24 projects from Brazil, India, Portugal, The Philippines and the United States, among other countries.

The World Young Reader Prizes are supported by Norske Skog, the Norway-based global paper producer, as part of its partnership in WAN-IFRA's Newspapers in Education Development Project.