Journalistic excellence for contributing to balanced narrative on Migration in Euro-Mediterranean region awarded
Valletta, Malta – Dec. 4, 2019. The third edition of the Migration Media Award rewarded 26 journalists from 12 countries for their constructive journalism, reflected through human interest and analytical stories, contributing to balance the narrative on migration, making it more evidence based, nuanced and less polarising.
An international jury, composed of 14 reputable journalists, academicsand experts on migration evaluated contributions in the five categories of video, print, online, multimedia or radio in the English, French or Arabic languages. The entries addressed one or more of the following themes in the Euro-Mediterranean region: diaspora, labour migration, vulnerable groups and legal and irregular migration.
The principals of the ceremony in Valletta, Malta held on Dec. 3, 2019 were the eleven 1st Prize winners from 8 countries: Alicia Media Segura (Spain); Jumana Saadeh (Jordan); Maha Salaheldin (Egypt); Ahmad Ellithy (Egypt); Hannah Kirmes-Daly (Germany/UK); Roshan de Stone (UK); David L Suber (Italy); Khadija El Bab (Morocco); Nicolas Feldmann (France); Mohamed-Karim Boukhsass (Morocco); Mona Allam (Egypt).
“The deep entanglement of media and migration expands across the fields of political, cultural and social life. Both, those migrating and those receiving them, turn to media and communicative practices to learn how to make sense of migration and to manage fears and desires associated with cross-border mobility in an increasingly porous but also controlled and divided world,” Julien Simon, ICMPD Regional Coordinator for the Mediterranean told the 120 MMA alumnis, mentors and jury members attending the ceremony.
The Migration Media Award (www.migration-media-award.eu) was created in 2017 to recognize excellence, relevance, and newsworthiness of journalism pieces contributing to balance the narrative on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
The long term objective of the migration media award is to foster coverage and reward outstanding pieces of journalistic work on migration issues, recognising the role media play in balancing the current narrative on migration.
“A media award on migration in the Mediterranean is, at this point in time, a very powerful and first concrete activity to ensure that the narrative on migration regains balance, relies on facts and does away with unfounded preconceptions”, prominent journalist trainer and jury member Walid Batrawi, said.
The winning entries feature fact-based and impartial reporting on the complexity of migration, its many challenges and opportunities. The entries consist of previously published pieces, and proposals for second productions which this award scheme funds as quality reporting is more than ever needed to improve the public’s understanding of migration.
This award is a collaboration of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) funded programs Euromed Migration 4 implemented by the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the Open Media Hub led by Thomson Media, in partnership with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Malta, the European Investment Bank and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).
