The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), based in Tokyo, is sponsoring a series of Developing Asia Journalism Awards to acknowledge the contribution of Asian and Pacific print journalists who cover development trends and their impact on the people and the countries of the region, says a press release.

The purpose of the awards is to recognise the efforts made by Asian and Pacific print journalists from developing countries who provide high-quality and balanced coverage of the real issues affecting growth and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

The awards will focus on excellence in journalistic reporting in six strategic areas of ADB's long term strategic framework.

Stories written in the local languages can be accepted if they are accompanied by an English translation prepared by the entrants or their newspapers.

The winners will be selected by a distinguished panel of independent judges comprising practicing journalists and academic experts in the field of communications.

Details of the awards and the application form are provided in the ADBI website: http://www.adbi.-org/journalismawards.html.