Oxfam Scotland is calling on journalists to enter the sixth Refugee Week Scotland Media Awards 2010.

Organised by Oxfam Scotland, and supported by partners including Scottish Refugee Council, the NUJ, British Red Cross and the UN Refugee Agency, the Refugee Week Scotland Media Awards highlight positive, accurate and influential reporting about asylum and refugee-related issues.

They are open to staff or freelance journalists working in print, broadcast, online or in photography, who have worked on asylum or refugee-related stories between May 1 2009 and April 30 2010.

Submissions will be considered in terms of accuracy, originality and impact and the story must have a strong Scottish connection. They will be judged by a panel, which includes people seeking asylum, exiled journalists and other media professionals. The winners will be announced at a special event on the evening of Friday June 18, 2010 at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, as one of the highlights of Refugee Week Scotland, a festival of events celebrating the contribution of refugees to the UK.

Aideen McLaughlin, Awards Co-ordinator said:

"Asylum is a human right and the media has a huge role to play in ensuring that right is respected and upheld by both the public and governments. Now more than ever we need clear and factual reporting on asylum and refugee issues and these Awards seek to encourage that.

"I would encourage journalists who have produced work in this field to enter. For those who haven't yet reported on these issues, there is still time to do so, as the competition is open to stories broadcast or published up until April 30, 2010."

Belinda McElhinney, Co-ordinator of Refugee Week Scotland, said:

"The media plays a key role in highlighting the situation of refugees who have had to flee persecution in their own country and seek sanctuary here in Scotland. As immigration is a hotly debated topic, factual and insightful reporting on asylum and refugee issues is more crucial than ever. The Refugee Week Scotland Media Awards are an important date in the Refugee Week calendar and are a way of acknowledging the journalists who are working hard to make a difference to refugees' lives in Scotland today."

Full entry details can be found here.