NRS International announces winners of the AidEx 2016 Humanitarian & Development Journalism Award
The winners of the highly anticipated AidEx 2016 Humanitarian & Development Journalism Award were announced during a ceremony at AidEx on 17 November. This is the second time that NRS International has hosted the Award with AidEx, building on last year’s success.
Baptiste Collard was declared the winner in the Photojournalism category for vividly capturing, through his lens, the impact of conflict on civilians in Jordan. In the Reporting category, Manveen Rana of the BBC won for her ‘most thorough and unflinchingly close view of what Syrian refugees experience as they journey to Europe.’
Each winner received a trophy and EUR2,500 cash prize. Wieke de Vries, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager at NRS International, personally handed over the awards.
The eight final entries from both categories were judged by an independent panel of experts, as well as by a public vote from the AidEx community.
A closer look at the winning Photojournalism entry
Below is Mr. Collard’s account of the set of photographs that earned him the title:
“Last June, I was able to spend five days in Jordan amid the refugee camp and Azraq of Zaatari. As the conflict rages in Syria for several years and that the political aspects and military conflict are widely covered in the media, the impact of the conflict on civilian population is a little less discussed. Through my lens, I have tried to show as closely as possible the most distress in which these people are in, their hopes, their fears and their daily lives. I wanted to show that these are people who have the same needs, the same desires and same dreams as us. In all modesty, I hope these images brought back from Jordan will allow those who see them to better understand the plight of these refugees who are ordinary people that were forced to flee, who put in so much effort to survive and continue to believe in the future.”
Take a look at these award-winning images:
Reporting winner’s video coverage on ‘A New Life In Europe’
“A New Life In Europe shows the human face of a vast humanitarian crisis. In a vivid 20-part series for BBC Radio’s the World at One and an hour long documentary which collates many of the reports, it provides the most thorough and unflinchingly close view of what Syrian refugees experience as they journey to Europe. For months, reporter Manveen Rana followed one Syrian family on their journey.”
Celebration of journalists hard work
Before the announcement of winners on 17 November, a panel session on the future and challenges of journalism in humanitarian settings was conducted. It was led by Laura Shields, Ben Parker and Louise Court.
On the eve of the awards ceremony, NRS International also hosted a dinner party to thank the finalists for their participation and to celebrate their accomplishments and contributions to the aid and development community.