A total of 294 journalism works have qualified for the public voting stage of the 2026 Samia Kalamu Awards (SKA), out of 3,003 entries submitted by 985 journalists and other media practitioners.
The public voting exercise, which began on Thursday, September 3, will run until September 30, giving Tanzanians an opportunity to select works they believe have made a significant contribution to society and national development.
The shortlisted works were selected following an assessment by a panel of judges who evaluated the entries based on quality, creativity, depth of research, professional ethics, social impact and their contribution to development.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam during the launch of the voting exercise, SKA Organising Committee Chairman and Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Director General, Engineer Peter Mwasalyanda, urged members of the public to participate in determining the winners.
He said voters could cast their ballots through the awards’ website, www.samiaawards.tz, or by sending an SMS containing the word “SKA” followed by the contestant’s number to 15200.
The Executive Director of the Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA), Dr Rose Reuben, said the awards had provided journalists from both rural and urban areas with an opportunity to compete on the strength of their work rather than popularity.
She urged the public to take part in the voting, saying citizens were at the centre of the media industry as consumers of news and were therefore well positioned to identify journalism that addressed issues affecting their lives.
“Public votes are important in promoting and recognising local content, as well as showcasing Tanzania internationally through professionally produced work by talented journalists participating in SKA 2026,” Dr Reuben said.
Prudence Constantine, representing the Journalists Accreditation Board (JAB), said voters should support works that reflect the needs and interests of communities and those that have helped expose, explain or educate the public on key development issues.
She described public participation as an important part of the awards process because it gives communities a direct role in recognising journalism that has created a positive impact.
One of the SKA 2026 judges, Beatrice Bandawe, said the judging process had demonstrated the growing capacity of Tanzanian journalists to identify, investigate and explain development issues affecting communities across the country.
“During our assessment, we found that Tanzanian journalists have a strong capacity to highlight and explain various development issues at all levels across the country,” Ms Bandawe said.
She said health, education, the environment, gender and issues affecting vulnerable groups were among the key areas prominently featured in the submitted works.
Meanwhile, Mr Mwasalyanda called on government institutions, private companies, organisations and development partners to support the awards through sponsorship.
He said investment in the awards would help strengthen professionalism, quality and innovation in Tanzania’s journalism industry.
“Supporting these awards is an investment in quality journalism, professionalism and creativity,” he said, adding that stronger support would encourage journalists and media organisations to produce accurate, ethical and development-focused content.
The Samia Kalamu Awards are national journalism awards coordinated by TCRA in collaboration with TAMWA and JAB under the theme “Kalamu kwa Maendeleo” (The Pen for Development).
The awards seek to recognise and promote excellence, professionalism and creativity in journalism, while encouraging media content that contributes to Tanzania’s social and economic development.