Four journalists from Belgium, Israel, Slovenia and Turkey are the winners of the Second Edition of the “Euro-Mediterranean Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue.” The prize was established by the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures and the International Federation of Journalists to encourage reporting on citizens in Europe and the Mediterranean space living together in culturally diversified societies. The winners will receive a trophy and an award of 5000 Euros for each. The international jury that met in Brussels on 17 December, selected the winners among 76 candidates from all over the 37 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region. In addition to journalistic quality, main selection criteria were promoting respect for diversity and providing insights into the living together of various communities in their societies.
The winners are:
Gideon Levy (Israel), for his article "The Children of 5767", published in Haaretz, September 2007. While at the date of its publishing Israelis were celebrating the Jewish New Year, the article reviews different stories of unarmed Palestinian children who got killed by the Israeli Defence Forces during the Jewish year 5767 (September 2006 - September 2007 Gregorian calendar). The article courageously tackles a sensitive issue and emphasizes a question rarely covered in the Israeli Media.
Jamila Zekhnini (Belgium), for her series of articles "MusulWomen" , published in Agenda Interculturel, October 2007. The journalist praises a new movement of Muslim women who are standing for their rights through an Islam that promotes gender equality.
Uros Skerl (Slovenia), for his article "Why wait for another massacre?” published in Dnevnik Newspaper, May 2007. Despite the end of Bosnian War in 1995, the article alerts the international community of a latent conflict that may explode between Serbs and Bosnians nowadays. The journalist deeply explores the worrying situation of the Bosnians, this precarious population living in the neighbourhood of the European Union.
Verichan Ziflioglu (Turkey), for her series of articles on "Arts and Dialogue in Turkey", published in Turkish Daily Newspaper, June 2007. While politics fail to resolve ethnic conflicts, Arts remain a powerful tool for dialogue but also for bridge-building between different communities. In her series, the journalist illustrates successful projects of musicians, web artists and photographers whose aim is to promote dialogue between diverse cultures in Anatolia.
The jury also awarded Honourable Mentions to two other journalists:
Nadia Al Awady (Egypt), for her article "Inside the Palestinian resistance Movements", published in Islam Online, May 2007.
Valentino Stefano (Italy), for his article "Cosmopolitan Pyla: Where Cyprus is already re-unified", published in Il Venerdi, December 2006.
All articles will be published in a Booklet in English, French and Arabic, and will be posted on the ALF and IFJ websites.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Bouchetob
Tel: +32 2 235 22 05
[email protected]