The Second Annual Fetisov Journalism Awards Ceremony
Official press release
April 23d, 2021
Zurich, Switzerland
On April 22nd, 2021, the Second Annual Fetisov Journalism Awards ceremony was held in Zurich, Switzerland.
The ceremony in hybrid (online and offline) format took place in the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich. Due to the pandemic and associated restrictions, the ceremony went ahead with a limited number of guests. Many participants joined the ceremony online. However, the Jury and Expert Council members as well as some winners arrived at the Dolder Grand hotel to celebrate the event.
Three hundred stories from 77 countries participated in the global contest 2020. The 12 winning projects of the Fetisov Journalism Awards 2020 include 7 individual entries (from India, Turkey, Switzerland, Nigeria and the US), 1 collaborative work from the UK and 4 cross-border projects produced by the teams from Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
“Today in pandemic time journalism faces new challenges, politicians and business try to use media as a tool,” FJA founder Gleb Fetisov said at the opening, “but journalists stand for the truth and public interest. All winners are real heroes.”
Journalism is a public good, and it is becoming more important today. Awarded works proof it and present clear response to all challenges. “It makes the world better”, said FJA Jury members: Founder of international Ethical Journalism Network Aidan White, Executive Director of the International Press Institute Barbara Trionfi, Secretary General of the European Federation of Journalists Ricardo Gutiérrez.
The prizes were awarded in 4 categories.
3rd prize in “Outstanding Investigative Reporting” category went to the team of authors from Africa for their collective cross-border project “Sucked Dry”. The 2nd prize in this category was awarded to ‘Fisayo Soyombo (Nigeria) for his investigation on Nigeria's criminal justice system. The 1st prize went to Ms Rohini Mohan (India) for her story “Worse Than a Death Sentence”.
The 3rd prize for Outstanding Contribution to Peace was awarded to Philip Obaji (Nigeria) for his work “The Child Refugees ‘Sold’ Through Facebook”. The 2nd prize in this category went to Mizar Kemal (Iraq/Turkey) for his story “The Endless War: Iraq's Heavy Legacy of Depleted Uranium”. The 1st prize went to the team of authors from the UK Richard Kent, Nick Donovan and Mohamed Aboelgheit for their investigation “Exposing the RSF's Secret Financial Network”.
The 3rd prize in “Contribution to Civil Rights” category was awarded to Anna Louie Sussman (US) for her series of articles “The Right to Family Life”. The 2nd prize went to the international team of authors Petra Sorge, Ankush Kumar, Saman Adaf, Bhavya Dore and Ajachi Chakrabarti (Germany/ India) for their investigation “How industry bodies are using the NCPCR and UNICEF to whitewash accusations of child labour”. The 1st prize went to the international team of authors from 15 countries for their collaborative cross-border investigation “Migrants from Another World”.
The 3rd prize in “Excellence in Environmental Journalism” went to a team of journalists from 10 Latin American countries for the project “Land of Resistants”. The 2nd prize in this category was awarded to Paula Dupraz-Dopias (Switzerland) for her story “Why Switzerland Struggles with Dirty Gold”. The 1st prize went to Adam Federman (US) for his story “How Science Got Trampled in the Rush to Drill in the Arctic”.
For the first time, due to COVID-19, the event was held in the form of a digital live stream. Viewers from all over the world were able to join the event on Thursday evening and attend the award ceremony live at the Dolder Hotel in Zurich.
Watch the official video of the 2nd Annual Fetisov Journalism Awards ceremony on FJA YouTube channel.
FJA Steering Committee is now accepting entries for 2021 Fetisov Journalism Awards. Visit FJA Website to read the eligibility and entry guidelines and to find the entry form. Applications will close on August 1st, 2021.