Human rights journalists win German Development Media Awards

Seven journalists, including two from Africa, have been honored at the 2013 German Development Media Awards held in Berlin. The winning stories range from an examination of the crushing poverty experienced by many women and girls in Liberia to an undercover investigation of the appalling conditions inside India’s government-run mental hospitals.

Other winning reports included an online feature looking at the abuse of disabled children in private institutions in Jordan as well as a multimedia dossier which shines a light on the victims of Colombia’s forced land evictions.

Chosen by an independent jury, the winners of the human rights and development awards hail from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Germany. In addition, the People’s Choice Award was presented for human rights photography in Africa.

More than 1,000 journalists from 109 countries entered the 2013 awards.

The German Development Media Awards honor journalists who retain their independence, tackle topics related to human rights and development and report on problems which are hardly covered by the media, if at all.

The awards are one of Germany’s longest running and most prestigious media prizes. This year was the first time that journalists outside of Germany have been eligible for the awards, which are jointly organized by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Deutsche Welle.

Click here for more information on the winners and the finalists.

The award winners

Africa: Wade C. L. Williams (Liberia): “Still a hard life” – Despite having a female leader, many women in Liberia have to crush rocks to scratch out a living

Asia: Gunjan Sharma (India): “Inside mental asylums: Damned lives and statistics”

Latin America: Olga Lucía Lozano, Juanita León, Marcela Peláez (Columbia): “Proyecto Rosa” – Multimedia dossier on the fate of the disappeared

Middle East: Hanan Khandagji (Jordan): “Cruel care: Abuse in centers for disabled children”

Eastern Europe/Central Asia: Volha Malafeychava (Belarus): “The story of a homosexual” – Insights into a country with widespread homophobia

Germany: Uwe H. Martin: “White gold” – Global cotton production ruins the lives of many farmers and leads to ecological and social problems

People’s Choice Award for Human Rights Photography in Africa: Oluyinka Ezekiel Adeparusi (Nigeria): “Where there is will, there is education” – Children in the floating slum of Makoko paddle home from school