The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has launched the Ashanti GJA Excellence Awards 2025, with a special honour introduced to recognise the contribution of retired media practitioners to journalism and society.
The new Kofi Badu Award, named after veteran journalist and Chief of Staff to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is expected to strengthen the relationship between the media fraternity in the Ashanti Region and the Manhyia Palace.
The awards scheme was officially launched in Kumasi on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, by the Ashanti Regional GJA Chairman, Mr Kofi Adu Domfe, and the Chairman of the Awards Committee, Isaac Justice Bediako.
The launch also opened the way for media practitioners in the region to submit their works for consideration in the various competitive categories.
Entries for the awards open today, September 9, 2026, and will cover works published or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2025.
The competition is open to all media practitioners operating in the Ashanti Region, except members of the Ashanti Regional GJA Executive, the Awards Committee and the Awards Jury.
Mr Justice Isaac Bediako ,Chairman of the committee explained that each applicant could compete in a maximum of two award divisions, with not more than two entries permitted in each division.
He further cautioned applicants against submitting the same work in more than one category.
According to him, applicants are required to submit clear and original copies of their published or broadcast works, together with a recent passport-sized photograph.
All entries are to be titled “Ashanti GJA Excellence Awards 2025” and sent via email to ashantiGJAawards@gmail.com.
Applicants are also required to provide their full names, names of their media organisations, telephone numbers and email addresses.
Categories.
The awards have been divided into two major competitive divisions, in addition to a number of special honours.
Division One includes competitive categories such as Sports, Education, Investigative Journalism, Photojournalism, Arts and Entertainment, Business and Economy, Environment, Science and Climate Change, Health, Crime and Courts, Agriculture, and Community Impact Journalism.
Division Two comprises Best Feature, Best Columnist and Best Documentary.
The prestigious Ashanti Regional Journalist of the Year award will be jointly determined and defined by the Awards Committee and the Awards Jury.
Mr Bediako said the organisers were committed to ensuring that the awards maintained high professional standards and reflected the best of journalism in the region.
“We want to assure the association members and all media practitioners in the Ashanti Region that we are going to do excellent work in this particular awards scheme,” he said.
He added that the organisers reserved the right to withhold an award in any category where entries failed to meet the required standard of journalistic excellence.
Kofi Badu honour.
One of the major highlights of this year’s awards is the introduction of the Kofi Badu Award.
The award is designed to honour retired media veterans who have made significant contributions to journalism while also creating a stronger bond between journalists in the region and the Manhyia Palace.
The initiative is expected to provide an opportunity for the GJA to celebrate the sacrifices and contributions of senior journalists whose professional careers helped shape the media landscape in Ghana.
Vetting committee
To promote credibility, fairness and transparency, the organisers have constituted a five-member Vetting Committee to scrutinise and evaluate all submissions.
The committee is made up of Sebastian Freku, Ashanti Regional Editor of The Chronicle; John Yeboah of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC); media practitioner Akua Asiedua; Dr Fortune Teller, a communication consultant and lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST); and Dr Atta Poku, a sports journalist, football administrator and lecturer at Christian Service University.
The composition of the committee, the organisers said, was intended to bring together professionals with experience in journalism, communication, academia and media practice.
Call for sponsorship
Speaking at the launch, Mr Domfe appealed to corporate institutions and other stakeholders to support the awards financially and logistically.
He said journalism was increasingly confronted with new challenges arising from the rapid advancement of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, deepfakes, misinformation and disinformation.
He, therefore, stressed the need for journalists to remain committed to professional standards, especially accuracy, verification, fairness and balance.
“Journalism is at the crossroads in this era of deepfakes, misinformation, disinformation, and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence,” Mr Domfe said.
He added that journalists had a responsibility to ensure that the public continued to receive credible and reliable information despite the changing media environment.
“Critical verification, accuracy, fairness, and balanced reporting must remain at the heart of what we do,” he stressed, adding that “every community deserves the best of journalism.”
The Regional Chairman said the awards were not only about celebrating individual journalists but also about encouraging excellence, professional development and responsible journalism within the Ashanti Region.
The 2025 awards are consequently expected to provide a platform for journalists to showcase impactful stories and outstanding journalistic works produced during the year under review.
Tighten the story for newspaper space
Remove repetition about the Kofi Badu Award
Clarify the 2025 awards timeline
