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Category Analysis
Winner Khody Akhavi

Khody Akhavi - IRAQ-AFGHANISTAN: Overlooking the Air War, Washington.

Khody Akhavi
was born in Britain to Iranian parents. He grew up in Canada, Spain, Sierra Leone, Norway, and he is now based in the United States. From Washington, he has covered the so-called "war on terror" and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Category Features
Shared Mario Osava - Ngoc Nguyen

Mario wrote the two-part series, "New Lives for Victims of Slave Labour" and "Freeing Modern-Day Slaves", Brazil.

(Originals in Spanish: DERECHOS HUMANOS-BRASIL: Una española libertadora de esclavos y BRASIL: Esclavitud es un mal difícil de extirpar

Veteran IPS writer Mario Osava, has travelled the corners of Latin America’s largest country to bring us stories from the ground on human rights, labour, environment, poverty, indigenous issues, and sustainable development.

Ngoc wrote a two-part series on South Asian immigration in the United States, MIGRATION-US: No Second Chance for Troubled Youth and "A Lifetime in Limbo" , San Francisco, California.

Ngoc Nguyen is a freelance journalist and editor based near Oakland, California. She frequently covers health and environmental justice stories, and issues related to the Asian American community.
Category Dangerous Assignments
Winner Mohammed A. Salih

Mohammed A. Salih - IRAQ: Young Women Find Peace as Guerrillas.

Kurdish journalist Mohammed A. Salih has reported for IPS from Haji Omaran (the Iraq-Iran border) and Arbil (Northen Iraq) on the plight of Kurds, especially women. One of the jury members said: “if I have to pick one it would be Salih because it's an unusual story and seems risky for the reporter”.

 

Members of the jury for the IPS Award for
Excellence in Independent Journalism 2007

  •  KUNDA DIXIT, Editor, Nepali Times, Nepal
     
  •  FARAI SAMHUNGU, Media and Communications Consultant
     
  •  ESTRELLA GUTIÉRREZ Journalist
     
  •  LISA VIVES, Director, Global Information Network (GIN) news agency, United States
     
  •  PABLO PIACENTINI, Director, IPS Columnist Service, Italy

“Richard De Zoysa” Award for Excellence in Independent Journalism

IPS is honouring Sri Lankan journalist Richard De Zoysa with this year's IPS Award for Excellence in Independent Journalism.

Richard De Zoysa was a multi-faceted personality who left a lasting impression during a short but prolific creative span. He was a media critic, announcer, teledrama and stage actor, author and journalist. He was also an IPS editor and the correspondent in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. Richard was 32 when he was abducted and killed by an armed gang in Sri Lanka on Feb. 19, 1990.

Richard's gruesome killing spurred his mother, Dr. Manorani Saravanamuttu, to launch a campaign for justice for the 'disappeared' on behalf of the mothers who had lost their sons; wives who had lost their husbands; sisters who had lost their brothers.

Dr. Saravanamuttu's relentless campaign attracted international attention towards the plight of victims who disappeared without a trace during the 1988-90 terror period. In 1996, she was awarded the 'Weera Mathru' (heroic mother) title.

Richard De Zoysa was awarded posthumously the IPS Award in 1990. This award was established in 1985 to honour outstanding accomplishments in international journalism, promoting democracy and human rights.

Awards 2006 Awards 2005 Awards 2004 Awards 2003
 Latest stories by 2007 winners
Khody Akhavi
POLITICS-US: Obama "Appalled" by Iran Repression
US-MIDEAST: Parsing Netanyahu’s Palestinian State
POLITICS: Lebanon’s Election: An International Affair
BOOKS-US: Blogging Brobdingnagian Blowback
POLITICS: Poll Backs Greater U.N. Role in Mideast Peace

Mario Osava
Q&A: Indigenous People in Colombia "Have Become a Strong Force"
BRAZIL: "Employment Crisis Is Over" - Labour Minister
DEVELOPMENT: More Urgent Measures Needed from IDB
LATIN AMERICA: IDB Capital Boost - Drop of Water in Sea of Crisis
DEVELOPMENT: IDB Falls Short of Its Name, Say Activists

Ngoc Nguyen
POLITICS: Young Hmong Americans Confront a Dark History
MIGRATION-US: A Lifetime in Limbo
MIGRATION-US: No Second Chance for Troubled Youth
HEALTH-U.S.: City Takes Aim at Hepatitis Among Asian Americans
DEVELOPMENT-US: Vietnamese Enclave Thrives After Katrina

Mohammed A. Salih
IRAQ: Lame-Duck Lawmakers Push Through Kurdistan's New Charter
US-IRAQ: Fate of Withdrawal Pact to be Decided at the Polls
IRAQ: Stumbling From One Conflict to Another?
US-IRAQ: Kurds Anxious Over Security Pact
IRAQ: Is Kurdish-Arab "Honeymoon" Over?


News in RSS
BRAZIL: Women 'Peace Workers' in the Favelas
AGRICULTURE-AFRICA: Calls for Sustainable Green Revolution
RELIGION-BRAZIL: Intolerance Denounced at UN
DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: Fears Over New Land Deal
PERU: Petroleum Sullies the Amazon
AGRICULTURE: Biotechnology: Africa Must Not Be Left Behind
EUROPE: Croatia on Uncertain Course for EU Membership
RIGHTS-AFRICA: AU Heeds Perpetrators Not Victims
RUSSIA: Hoping for Much, Expecting Little
POLITICS-BOTSWANA: Parties Block Women Candidates for Upcoming Elections
More >>
News in RSS
WOMEN'S HEALTH - A SMART INVESTMENT IN TROUBLED TIMES
  By Thoraya Ahmed Obaid
POOR COUNTRIES RAILROADED INTO WEAK COMPROMISE AT UN FINANCIAL SUMMIT
  By Sylvia Borren
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BOB ROACH : "IN THIS GLOBALISED ECONOMY COMPANIES DON'T RECOGNISE NATURAL BOUNDARIES."
  By Lucy Komisar
KEY ISSUES IN THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON THE GREAT ECONOMIC CRISIS
  By Martin Khor
BRAZIL - POWER AND REALISM
  By Joaquin Roy
MORE >>
 

 

Comments by the jury members:

Dangerous Assignments:

“My choice for dangerous assignments would be a tie between Salih and Ben-Achour but if I had to pick one it would be Salih because it's an unusual story and seems risky for the reporter...”

Mohammed A. Salih’s “Young Women Find Peace as Guerrillas” is “an interesting perspective highlighting women’s often invisible roles especially in war. It is an inspiring tale of women’s quest to free themselves of male domination in a very unusual way – as guerillas. The article is informative, simple and inspiring.”

Features:

“I think the stories by Milagros Salazar are outstanding - it doesn't appear that she just took a handout from an NGO but did a lot of her own investigation on a story that might not otherwise be sufficiently covered. The stories by Aaron Glantz and Ngoc Nguyen tie for runners-up. They're interesting and well written.”

Stephen Leahy’s “Entire Landscape on the Move” is “an excellent article highlighting an issue of global significance... he describes in vivid detail the impacts of climate change on the environment and people’s livelihoods.”

In Aaron Glantz's “Soldier’s Tragic Suicide Just One of Dozens” “the writer introduces his story with an unusual take on a rather mundane practice -- tattooing-- which has been given significance as a result of the impact of the Iraq war on U.S. soldiers and their families. I found this narrative clear and emotionally engaging. Outstanding.”

Analysis:

“I vote for Constanza's story: It sets out a premise and then offers the evidence… (The story from Iraq “A Tale Of One City, Now Two”) would be a runner-up...”

Thalif Deen’s story “US Arms Sales Preserve Israel’s Edge” “is illuminating of the United States' contradictory policies in the Middle East. His style is simple, precise and thoroughly engaging.”

Joyce Mulama’s “I Almost Have No Fare to Come Back to Nairobi” is “an excellent analysis, which puts a spotlight on an issue rarely covered in elections – difficulties confronted by women in funding their election campaigns. The analysis is well balanced and seeks voices of women as well as men across different political parties in Kenya.

 

Special Mention
(in no particular order)

Features:

Analysis:

Dangerous Assignments :

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