The award aims to recognize works that present social issues – along with the responses and possible solutions to them – in a sensitive, authentic, and impactful way.
This year’s award programme places particular emphasis on climate change. Heat waves, dried-up waterways, wildfires, storms and flash floods – these are no longer the distant future, but part of our everyday experience, fundamentally reshaping our environment and the way we live. In recent years, many parts of the world, including Hungary, have faced increasingly extreme weather conditions. How is all this affecting society, our daily lives and our future? The organisers invite works that respond to this topic with sensitivity, offering a critical or personal perspective.
This year, the award accepts entries published on television or online platforms between 31 August 2025, and 31 August 2026. Entries can be videos, individual photos or a series of up to 10 photos.
Deadline for submissions: 4 October 2026, midnight
The jury will award the prize in several categories. As in previous years, there will also be a prize for the best first-time entrant – a category that honours first-time entrants demonstrating excellence in their work.
The jury of the Hégető Honorka Prize is chaired by Balázs Weyer, journalist. Members of the jury: Antónia Mészáros, Executive Director of UNICEF Hungary and Krisztina Máté, television journalist and producer. The photo entries will be evaluated by András Bánkuti, photojournalist, founder of Mai Manó House – House of Hungarian Photographers and editor-in-chief of Digital Photo Magazine, and Szilvia Mucsy, photographer, co-founder and director of the Budapest Photo Festival and head of the RANDOM contemporary photography collective.
As a long-standing supporter of the award, Yettel is offering a special prize to reward an exceptional work. The company not only recognizes the work of journalists but also supports the issue highlighted by the award-winning piece, thereby underscoring the important role of the press in addressing significant social matters.
The Hégető Honorka Award was established in 2003 in memory of the young RTL reporter who tragically lost her life in a car accident. Honorka Hégető’s work was marked by deep social sensitivity and empathy for the vulnerable and disadvantaged – values that continue to set the standard for the award today.
Terms and conditions:
• Format: video or photo/photo series
• Scope:
o for videos: 5 to 30 minutes
o for photos:
- maximum 3 individual photos per entrant, or
- a photo series including 8 to 10 photos
• Date of publication: 31 August 2025 to 31 August 2026
• The entry should include the following information:
o name and contact details of entrant (phone number, e-mail address)
o project title and synopsis
o place and date of publication
Entries should be uploaded to https://rtl.hu/hegetodij
Video entries must be submitted via a YouTube or Vimeo link.
Deadline for submissions: 4 October 2026, midnight
For questions about the award programme, please contact: hegeto@rtl.com
Sponsors of the Hégető Honorka Award: RTL Hungary, the Hégető family, Yettel Hungary