The Guardian and EE partner for awards scheme that recognises contributions made by readers

All content submitted via GuardianWitness on or before 20 January 2014 will be eligible for consideration for the eleven award categories including: news contribution of the year; award for a series of contributions; the bigger picture award; and funniest contribution of the year award, amongst others.

Sponsor of the ceremony, EE, will also be giving out a Contributor of the Year Award with the winner receiving an Apple iPad Air in addition to the specially designed trophy awarded to each of the other winners.

"GuardianWitness is a fantastic example of the Guardian's commitment to open journalism and digital innovation, and the awards are a celebration of all the brilliant contributions from our readers,” said Laura Oliver, Social and community editor at Guardian News and Media. “We have a great community of people who use GuardianWitness and the awards are a fantastic opportunity to showcase their quality, diversity and impact."

Explaining EE’s sponsorship, Spencer McHugh, director of Brand at EE said: "It's a fantastic and innovative partnership with benefits right across the board. Open journalism has thrived on the public's ability to document and share news as it happens, quicker than ever before, and our record-breaking roll out of 4G across the country supports this growing trend. GuardianWitness offers the perfect platform to bring the EE brand and our superfast broadband to life, whilst supporting ground-breaking digital development and open journalism."

Judging the entries will be Guardian and Observer editors along with key figures in the news, media, science and technology communities ahead of the ceremony in March this year.