On June 2nd the Samir Kassir Award was presented in Beirut. Organized by the European Union in conjunction with the Samir Kassir Foundation, this award has been presented every year since 2006, a year after the murder of famous journalist and Lebanese academic. Its aim is to promote quality journalism, informed and independent, which reflects a commitment to democracy and a state of rights – something encouraged by the European Union. It is open to journalists from North Africa, the Gulf and the Middle East who have been published in the European Union.
For this tenth edition, the Audiovisual Report category was awarded to Mohammed Nour Ahmad, a Palestinian refugee in Syria, for his film “Blue”. In his documentary, the director shows the plight of refugees in the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk, highlighting the power and importance of music, in this case the piano, to cope with daily life and restore hope. In the Opinion Piece category the award went to journalist Ayman Al-Ahmad for “Father, Who is Michel Seurat?” while Egyptian Hisham Manaa won an award for his investigation into the corruption in Egypt’s health sector and its non-compliance with health standards. They each received €10,000.
Sources: samirkassiraward.org, lorientlejour.com et magazine.com.lb
