SWITCH JOURNALISM AWARD 2026
Telling the future of food: an award for those who inform, inspire, and make a difference.
The SWITCH Journalism Award is back.
The call is now open for journalists, writers, and communicators who want to tell the story of food systems transformation and the choices shaping our future.
At a time when food, health, climate, and sustainability are deeply interconnected, quality journalism plays a crucial role in informing the public, inspiring change, and amplifying solutions. The SWITCH Journalism Award recognises outstanding reporting that explores how food systems can become healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable.
If your work helps people understand the challenges and opportunities of the food transition, this is your chance to take part.
Submit your article, investigation, or multimedia piece and join a growing community of journalists committed to making a difference through storytelling.
Submit your article before March 9!
Call for Articles closes
05/08/2025
Jury evaluation
01/09/2025
Public Voting Opening
15/09/2025
The call for articles and the voting process are now closed. We’ll announce the winners soon. In the meantime, explore and read all the finalist contributions.
CALL FOR ARTICLES
Who can partecipate?
Open to scholars, journalists, writers, students, and anyone passionate about raising awareness and fostering dialogue around the shift toward sustainable and healthy diets with a focus on food innovation, sustainability education, and fair access to nutritious food.
CALL FOR ARTICLES
How to apply
It’s very simple and takes just a few minutes: fill out the registration form and submit either an unpublished or previously published contribution, along with a summary in English highlighting the main points of your work.
Applicants will be asked to provide their full name, contact details, the language of their submission, and whether they’re available to attend the final event in Venice in June 2026.
The deadline to submit the article is March 9.
Submission Guidelines
Contributions may include visual elements such as images, photographs, infographics, or other media that support and enrich the written content.
Submissions are accepted in any of the official languages of the SWITCH project’s Food Hubs (Italian, Spanish, French, German, Swedish) as well as in English.
The article must not exceed 5,000 words. Each submission must be accompanied by an English summary of no more than 300 words, outlining the key points of the article. Participants are invited to submit original contributions that address one or more of the following thematic areas:
Sustainable and healthy diets
Strategies and practices to promote dietary habits that are both environmentally friendly and beneficial to human health.
Food education and awareness
The role of education and communication in supporting the dietary transition.
Food equity and accessibility
Addressing inequalities in access to healthy and sustainable food, and proposing inclusive policy solutions.
Innovation and digitalization in agri-food systems
Technological and methodological innovations aimed at improving food production, distribution, and consumption.
Policies for behavioural change in dietary habits
Approaches to influence consumer behavior and promote more sustainable food choices.
How will contributions be evaluated?
Relevance and originality (20%)
Evaluation will consider the topic’s relevance to the agri-food sector, as well as the originality and innovation demonstrated in the proposed approach.
Presentation clarity (25%)
The quality of text structure and the ability to present the content clearly and effectively will be taken into consideration.
Depth of analysis (25%)
The scientific and informative rigor of the article will be evaluated along with the variety and reliability of the bibliographical sources used.
Topicality (5%)
The relevance of the article in relation to current topics and trends in the sector will be assessed.
Impact (5%)
The ability of the article to reach a broad audience and to be widely shared will be considered.
Awards
In total, 7 articles will be awarded: one for each of the Food Hubs (representing each of the project’s official languages), and one in the international category (written in English).
Entries that receive the highest scores from the jury in each language category will be uploaded to the website for public voting.
The jury will select the seven winners based on their overall impact and excellence according to the evaluation criteria. The results will be announced on SWITCH’s official social media channels, while further details about the award ceremony in Venice will be shared in future updates.
Winners will be awarded through a dedicated press tour taking place during Venice Climate Week 2026, held in Venice, Italy, from June 3rd to 8th.
Venice Climate Week is an international multistakeholder forum dedicated to climate leadership, strategic action, innovation, and systemic solutions for a fair and regenerative ecological transition.
The experience includes:
- Participation in a roundtable dedicated to the communication and promotion of healthy and sustainable food practices.
- Opportunities to network with experts, policymakers, and other changemakers in sustainable food systems.
- Travel expenses covered, including meals and accommodation.