YOUNGEST-EVER BROADCAST JOURNALIST CROWNED AT ONE WORLD MEDIA AWARDS

 

Twenty-seven-year-old Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has been crowned Broadcast Journalist of the Year, an Award sponsored by Concern Worldwide, at this year’s One World Media Awards hosted by Jon Snow (Porchester Hall, Bayswater, 14 June 2007).  Best known to UK audiences for her work on Channel 4’s Unreported World and Dispatches, Sharmeen is the youngest-ever recipient of this prestigious prize.

 

Born and raised in Pakistan, her work has tackled the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan, the women's movement in Saudi Arabia, and the Catholic Church's pro-life movement in the Philippines.

She recently donned a burkha-cam to gain extraordinary access to women on the streets of Kabul in Dispatches: Afghanistan Unveiled.  The judges were particularly impressed by her report, South Africa: The New Apartheid (Channel 4, Dispatches), and commented: “She is a broadcaster of great presence who hits a story from every angle to communicate directly with her audience.”

 

Another young woman, 28-year-old Malalai Joya, takes centre stage in Enemies of Happiness, winner of the International Premiere Award, sponsored by Plan UK. The film follows the tense, touching and often treacherous final weeks of Malalai’s campaign to become the youngest-ever member of parliament in Afghanistan. The jury praised director, Eva Mulvad, and her team, describing Enemies of Happiness as, “film-making of the highest order.”

 

In recent weeks Malalai Joya has been suspended from her parliamentary seat for criticising the Afghan government. Now, more than ever, Enemies of Happiness offers a powerful reminder of the immense personal courage and conviction of a young woman and her campaign against corruption.

 

Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, Nepal’s Radio Sagarmatha – the first independent radio station in South Asia – scooped the prestigious One World Special Award, for making a unique contribution in the developing world.  Based in the heart of the Kathmandu Valley, Radio Sagarmatha has irreversibly changed the landscape of broadcasting in the region. When the station launched in May 1997 - after five years of lobbying - it marked the end of the government’s radio monopoly, and in its wake hundreds of commercial FM and community-based stations were set up. Today Radio Sagarmatha is on air 18 hours a day, broadcasting over 70 different programmes, primarily in Nepali. 

 

Station manager, Mohan Bista, collecting the award in London, said: “We would like to dedicate this award to the Nepali people who fought for freedom of expression and democracy, and thank them for their support through the good and bad times – and look forward to the challenges and responsibilities of the future.”

 

In a year of outstanding documentary quality and range, the jury made the unprecedented decision to announce two winners in the TV Documentary category, sponsored by Help the Aged. In a double hit for the BBC, The Tea Boy of Gaza (Raw TV for BBC 2) and The 12 Year Old Cocaine Smuggler (BBC 2) were applauded for telling powerful stories through the eyes of children.

 

BBC Radio 4 collected the Radio Documentary Award, sponsored by World Vision, for Unseen China - in which broadcaster, Peter White, travelled with Xiaoyuan, a domestic worker in Beijing, back to her village to be reunited with her children for the first time in two years. The jury praised the programme for its uncommon sensitivity and humour in telling a truly memorable story of emotional separation and economic survival.

 

BBC Northern Ireland secured the hat-trick for the BBC picking up the Local Media Award, sponsored by DfID, for Flight of the Goats, an uplifting film which followed the journey of 300 Irish goats from Femanagh to a new life in Tanzania with Farmer Yusuf Fumo and his family.

 

The Guardian had more than one good reason to celebrate on the evening, taking home a pair of awards. G2 writer Joanna Moorehead received the MDGs Award sponsored by CAFOD for Different Planets – an analysis of the chasm that exists in healthcare between those in Sweden, the safest place in the world to give birth, and Niger, the most dangerous. Guardian Weekend magazine scooped the Press Award, sponsored by Action Aid, for The Big Steal, Jonathan Watts’ report on the complex story of land grabbing in China.

 

The Popular Features Award, sponsored by Christian Aid, went to Mail on Sunday journalist Damien Lewis for his report, Darfur’s Inferno, which detailed the epic 6 month trek refugees are making to shelter in the Nuba Mountains.

 

ITV News won the Children’s Rights Award, sponsored by UNICEF, for Romania’s Unwanted Children - a series of reports by Chris Rogers exposing the illegal trade in unwanted babies and the bleak future of those left behind. The jury felt that in moving the debate to the European Parliament and sowing the seeds of legislation, the films had real potential to materially improve the lives of the children affected.

 

New Media Award, sponsored by Tearfund, was awarded to Human Rights Video Hub (www.globalvoicesonline.org). The judges felt that it had the potential to effect real change, making it easier for those without a computer to share human rights violations with global audiences.

 

The ceremony was hosted by Channel 4 News’ Jon Snow, a steadfast supporter of the awards. In his keynote speech, President for the Muslim European Network, Professor Tariq Ramadan, explored how the media portrays Muslims and what role the media could play in building a new relationship between the Arab world and the West. Professor Ramadan was named by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most important innovators of the century.

 

 

Notes to Editors

The One World Broadcasting Trust’s coveted annual awards, promote comprehensive coverage and analysis of all aspects of the developing world: its successes and achievements, as well as its problems and challenges, from as many different perspectives as possible. www.owbt.org