EU awards journalists for raising awareness of discrimination

The European Union awarded the "For Diversity. Against Discrimination" prize to German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung for raising awareness of discrimination. A Hungarian journalist won second place and an article from Finland received a special prize for focusing on the link between poverty and discrimination. The three winners will each receive a grant for a research trip to an EU country of their choice. The European Commission is also launching the 2010 edition of the "For Diversity. Against Discrimination" award, called EU Journalist Award - Together against discrimination. The competition is open to both print and online journalists who write about discrimination and diversity issues. Articles must be published between 1 September 2009 and 17 September 2010.

"The media can play a key role in tackling discrimination, prejudices and stereotypes by reporting on these issues. Journalists trigger debates. They can form opinions and raise awareness in our societies on issues as important as discrimination," said Viviane Reding, Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. "Diversity and social inclusion are values on which our Union is founded and they are all the more important in the current economic context. Today's award winners have made a valuable contribution to raising awareness on discrimination issues and I hope that this will encourage more journalists to participate in the 2010 competition."

Today's ceremony in Brussels will honour those journalists who, through their writing, help foster a better understanding of the benefits of diversity. These reporters encourage readers to consider discrimination and inequality issues more closely. This year, the Commission is dedicating a special award to an article about the links between poverty and discrimination issues.

2009 Award Winners
Kathrin Löther, a young student journalist from Germany, won first prize for her article "Das Lieben der Anderen" ("The Love of Others"), which was published in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The winning article addresses the issue of love between people with disabilities, raising awareness of this topic in a warm and human way.

István Balla was the runner-up winner for his article in the Hungarian online magazine Figyelőnet on the living conditions of Roma children (Mit látnak Budapestből a cigány gyerekek? ("What do Roma Children See of Budapest?").

Finally, Hanna Nikkanen received a special award for "Kerrosten välissä" ("Stuck in between"). Her article in the monthly magazine Voima tells the story of a migrant facing poverty in Finland.

The winning articles can be found on: http://journalistaward.stop-discrimination.info/

Launch of entries for the 2010 award
Meanwhile, the 2010 edition of the journalist award is now open for entries. The competition is open to both print and online journalists who write on issues of discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation. Articles must be published between 1 September 2009 and 17 September 2010 in a print or online media outlet that has its main editorial office in one of the 27 EU Member States. The deadline for submitting articles via the award website is 17 September 2010.

Background
The journalist award scheme is part of the awareness-raising activities in the EU's "For Diversity. Against Discrimination" campaign. European Youth Press, the European Journalism Centre and the Association of European Journalists are partners of this award edition.

The EU selected the winning entries from more than 500 articles from all 27 Member States that were submitted between November 2008 and the end of August 2009. The jury members underlined the high quality of the articles submitted. The three European winners will each receive a grant for a research trip to an EU country of their choice.
See also MEMO/09/51

For more information:
"For Diversity. Against Discrimination." Journalist Award
http://journalistaward.stop-discrimination.info
"For Diversity. Against Discrimination." campaign
http://www.stop-discrimination.info/99.0.html
European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion
http://www.2010againstpoverty.eu