ROME, September 17, 2009 (WAFA)- Presided by André Azoulay, President of the Anna Lindh Foundation, and chaired by renowned Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, the jury of the Anna Lindh Mediterranean Journalist Award convening in Rome officially announced the winners of the 2009 edition of the prize.
The winners of the Award, which is the leading regional prize for journalists reporting across cultures and on issues of cultural diversity and which is supported by the Anna Lindh Foundation in collaboration with the COPEAM network and the European Commission, will officially receive their Prize at a prestigious ceremony in Monaco on November 5.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, André Azoulay said “the media today play a more significant role than ever in terms of shaping mutual perceptions across the Mediterranean region, a reality which means that journalists have an important responsibility in communicating the complexities of issues related to the region’s cultural diversity”
Amin Maalouf, Chair of the Jury, commented: “What characterizes the media works brought together by this year’s Anna Lindh Award is not only the professional quality but also the ‘ethical’ quality, the capacity of the journalists to approach difficult issues and explore deeply essential questions in terms of reducing the gap in mutual perceptions’
The winners of the 2009 edition of the Journalist Award are: Ethar El Katatney (written press) for 'Identity Crisis' (Egypt Today, Egypt); Martin Traxi (Television – background) for 'Balkan Express' (ORF, Austria); Chine Labbé (radio production) for 'Practicing and creating the law in the Palestinian Territories: a continuous battle' (original title: 'Exercer et produire le droit dans les territoires palestiniens: un combat continu' ' (France Culture, France); Ennio Remondino (Television – documentary) for 'The peoples of the Ark' (original title: 'I popoli dell'Arca') (RAI, Italy) ; Alberto Arce (conflict reporting) for a series of reportages from Gaza (El Mundo, Spain and Lisa Goldman (background of conflicts) for 'What Israelis wanted to know about the war in Gaza (Columbia Journalist Review, USA).
A special mention was appointed to ELAPH, an online media in Arabic language based in the UK, with the perspective of the creation of the category 'New Media' for future editions.
The Jury of the Journalist Prize was composed of: André Azoulay (President of the Anna Lindh Foundation); Amin Maalouf (Chair of the Jury); Members of the Jury: David Gardner (Financial Times); Juan Luis Cebrian (Prisa group) ; Hala Hashish (Egyptian satellite television); Alessandra Paradisi (COPEAM ); Jean Réveillon (EBU) ; Lucian Sarb (Euronews); Rana Sabbagh (Arab reporters for investigative journalism) and Andreu Claret (Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation and Secretary of the Jury).
