Can you tell us a little about the Komla Dumor Award?

BBC World News has launched the Komla Dumor Award this week in honour of Komla, who passed away a year ago, aged 41. Komla was an exceptional Ghanaian broadcaster who made an extraordinary impact as a news presenter in Ghana, in Africa and across the world.

The award will be given to an outstanding individual who lives and works in Africa and who combines strong journalism skills with an exceptional talent for telling African stories – someone with the ambition and potential to become a star of the future.

Why do you think there is a need for such an award?

One of the things that makes the BBC stand out from other international broadcasters is our combination of a truly global perspective with local knowledge and insight from journalists who come from Africa. Komla was a very important part of that family, he believed the African story should be told in its entirety, tackling big stories and making them human, so that people across the world could connect with them. The BBC is committed to continuing Komla’s legacy with this award, which will give an up and coming journalist working in Africa the opportunity to gain skills and experience at the BBC and the chance to broadcast on TV, radio and online to the BBC’s audiences of 265 million across the world.

What do you hope an award like this will achieve?

We have very high expectations. We know that there is so much journalistic talent on the African continent and we want to invest in that talent. We are committed to keeping Komla’s work and memory alive and to empowering journalists to tell the stories of their communities on a global platform.

We are confident we will find a rising star who displays exceptional talent, someone who is creative and engaging, someone who embodies the spirit of Komla, and who understands how Africa fits into the world.

Who qualifies to enter?

To apply for the award, you must be a professional journalist with at least three years’ experience, living and working in Africa. That can be in print, broadcast or online media, although some experience in a broadcast environment would be preferable.

Komla epitomised a new Africa; youthful, dynamic and enterprising. With his infectious enthusiasm, beaming smile and engaging personality he made the stories of a new Africa, good and bad, difficult to ignore. The ideal candidate is a rising star who displays exceptional talent and enthusiasm, someone who is passionate about telling African stories to the world, someone who embodies the spirit that Komla had.

When is the entry deadline?

Applications close on Monday, 9 February 2015 at 23.59 GMT.

What will the winner of this award receive?

The winner will receive a once-in-a-lifetime training and development opportunity with the BBC in London, starting in early September 2015 and running for three months. Working with teams from across BBC News, the winner will produce an African story for the BBC and have their story and their voice shared across the continent and the world. They will be supported by a high-level BBC mentor and attend courses run by the BBC’s world-class training department, the BBC Academy.

*For information on how to apply, entry criteria, and terms and conditions, visit BBC’s website here.