The Guardian International Development Journal Competition

Do you have the ability to be a top-notch journalist? Could you write the sort of articles the Guardian would be happy to publish? Here is the chance for your work to be published alongside some of the best journalism in the UK.

The Guardian, in partnership with eight UK-based international non-government organisations (NGOs), wants to find exciting new voices in journalism. We are looking for anyone who is willing to rise to the challenge of writing about some of the most crucial issues facing the developing world today - issues that are often overlooked or underrepresented by the media.

The challenge is to write an article of 650 to 1,000 words by May 6 on an aspect of global poverty that deserves greater media exposure - from safe motherhood to sanitation, youth governance to sexually transmitted infections. The 16 best writers will be selected from a longlist of about 40 entrants, all of whom will have their articles published online at guardian.co.uk.

The two strands for entry are:

· For professional freelance journalists (people who have been published before - excluding student journalists - but who are not employees of media organisations).

· For amateurs, including students. Anyone who is not a professional journalist is welcome to enter.

·For more details on all aspects of the competition, visit
guardian.co.uk/developmentcompetition