On 10 September 2020, the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon with its partner, the Samir Kassir Foundation, announced the results of the 15th edition of the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press, in a special televised talk-show on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI). This Award, established and funded by the European Union, is widely recognized internationally as a flagship prize for press freedom and the most prestigious journalism award in the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf regions.
This year, marked globally by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the wake of the tragic explosion in the port of Beirut on 4 August, the Award sheds light on the vital need for independent, in-depth and quality reporting. Dynamic, independent media organisations are emerging in the region and playing an essential role in advocating for more accountability, transparency and access to information. In an ever more digital world, they are presenting a credible alternative and giving a voice to communities and population groups that are often marginalized or forgotten.
This Award rewards journalists who have distinguished themselves through the quality of their work and their commitment to human rights and democracy. This year 212 journalists participated in the competition from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. 85 candidates competed in the Opinion piece category, 84 in the Investigative article category, and 43 in the Audiovisual news report category. The winner in each of the three categories is awarded with a prize of €10,000. Each of the two runner-ups in every category receive a €1,000 prize.
Annually held at the beginning of June, to mark the 15th anniversary of the Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir’s assassination on 2 June 2005 in Beirut, this year the Award ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19 measures and was held in a new format adapted to the circumstances. The televised ceremony was hosted by Lebanese journalist Nicole Hajal and was followed by thousands of people across the region who viewed the broadcast on LBCI’s satellite channel worldwide and online on social media channels.
The winners of the 2020 Award are:
- Opinion piece category: Rim Ben Rjeb from Tunisia, born in 1990, a journalist specialized in gender issues. Her article entitled “"There is blood in panties": Hafsa and the damned chromosome” was published in Jeem online magazine on 30 June 2019 and offers an intimate portrait of the author’s sister, born with Down syndrome, and a poignant reflexion around the sexual life of people with disabilities.
- Investigative article category: Mostafa Abu Shams from Syria, born in 1979, an investigative journalist based in Bordeaux, France. His report entitled “Children of the Unknown” was published by Al-Jumhuriya on 16 May 2019 and exposes the fate of 12,000 children born out of marriages of Syrian women and foreign fighters who had joined the Islamic State in Syria during the conflict. These children have no rights and receive no proper care from the authorities and parties involved in the Syrian conflict.
- Audiovisual news report category: Dalal Mawad from Lebanon, born in 1985, senior video producer with the Associated Press. Her report entitled “In Lebanon, a Transgender Woman Tells Her Story” was first aired on Daraj Media on 10 April 2019 and portrays a courageous transgender Lebanese woman and the ordeals she had to overcome in a very conservative society to remain true to herself.
EU Ambassador to Lebanon Ralph Tarraf said: “It is unacceptable that people are persecuted and prosecuted because of what they say, write or simply express on social media. No one, including journalists and other media actors, should be subject to violence, persecution, harassment and intimidation when doing their job and at any time. We stand for freedom of expression online and offline, and for combating impunity for crimes against journalists.”
Gisèle Khoury, President of the Samir Kassir Foundation, said that the role of the Foundation “is to provide a shield for the young men and women of the region who have decided to break free from fear. The Samir Kassir Award rewards the bravest journalists who say the truth and by doing so protect their society and prevent, through courageous and professional investigations, tragedies similar to the Beirut blast.”
An independent and mixed Arab and European jury of seven media professionals, scholars and human rights defenders selected the winners. This year’s jury gathered Bakhtiar Amin (Iraq), former Minister of Human Rights and former Chair of the Foundation for the Future; Thijs Berman (The Netherlands), Executive Director of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy and former principal advisor of the OSCE representative on freedom of the media; Sam Dagher (Lebanon), award-winning author, journalist contributing to The Atlantic and fellow at the Middle East Institute; Farouk Mardam Bey (Syria/France), Director of Sindbad-Actes Sud publishing house and representative of the Samir Kassir Foundation in the jury; Bessma Momani(Jordan/Canada), Interim Assistant Vice-President and Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo; Audrey Pulvar (France), president of African Pattern and former news anchor and television host; and Cecilia Uddén Mannheimer (Sweden), Middle East Correspondent for the Swedish Radio.
For the first time in 2020, a new Students’ Prize was introduced. Students from Lebanese universities were given the chance to interact virtually with the 10 candidates who reached the final stage and debate with them key challenges that societies in general and journalists in particular face in the MENA and Gulf regions. Students voted for their favourite submission following the debate and elected Kamal Ayash from Iraq, for his article entitled “A Generation of Birth Defects in Fallujah: Fifteen Years after the Bombing of Phosphorus” published by Daraj Media on 3 April 2019. His article focuses on the consequences of chemical weapons used in the city of Fallujah on newborns and the lack of accountability and transparency around the matter.
Journalists have a vital role in providing facts, investigating matters and exposing the truth. By providing access to information, media professionals are contributing to accountability and transparency in their societies. The European Union proudly supports the Samir Kassir Award for Press Freedom.
Samir Kassir was born on May 4, 1960, to a Lebanese-Palestinian father and a Lebanese-Syrian mother. He grew up in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Beirut and studied at the Lycée Français. In 1981, six years after the beginning of the Lebanese war, he moved to Paris to pursue his higher studies. In 1984, he received his Master's degree in political philosophy from the Sorbonne (Université Paris I) and 1990, his PhD in contemporary history from Université Paris IV.
During the years he spent in Paris, he published a number of articles in the Al-Hayat and L'Orient-Le Jour newspapers. He also wrote for Le Monde Diplomatique and had regular contributions to The Seventh Day and the French edition of the Journal of Palestinian Studies.
In 1992, in collaboration with his friend, the Syrian historian and publisher Farouk Mardam Bey, he published "Itineraries from Paris to Jerusalem", a French book in two volumes, describing the French policy in the Arab Levant, especially in regards to the Palestinian Nakba and the Arab-Israeli conflict. A year after, he returned to Beirut to teach at Université Saint-Joseph's political science institute and join the An-Nahar newspaper as an op-ed writer and the director of the paper's publishing house.
In 1994, Samir published his second book in French "The Lebanon War", based on his doctoral thesis, and analyzing the dynamics of the conflict as well as the intricate relations of internal and foreign factors during the 1975-1982 period. This book was translated to Arabic in 2008.
In 1995, Samir starts a monthly magazine "L'Orient-Express", which rapidly became the most prestigious cultural periodical in Lebanon. The publication was interrupted in 1998 for financial reasons. In parallel, he founded "Al-Layali", a publication house that released several books of articles initially published in "L'Orient-Express", as well as catalogues of old colonial advertisements for Mediterranean cities and Egyptian movies from the 1960s and 1970s.
Samir Kassir's articles and op-eds in An-Nahar in the late 1990s and early 2000s are still viewed as the boldest writings against the Syrian hegemony in Lebanon, the rule of former President Emile Lahoud, and the political role of security apparatuses. These articles pushed General Jamil Sayed, the former director general of the General Security, to threaten Kassir, get him chased, and confiscate his passport at the Beirut International Airport in April 2001, before returning it to him after the subsequent political and cultural outcry.
In 2003, Samir published his third book in French "History of Beirut" (translated to Arabic in 2007 and to English – titled "Beirut" – in 2011). The book describes the capital's history, families, culture, economy, as well as its urban and social development, and its relations with other Lebanese regions, Arab and Mediterranean cities. After his book, a cornerstone of his intellectual life, Samir published in 2004 two books in Arabic: "Democracy in Syria and Lebanon's Independence" and "Askar Ala Meen", comprised of a series of Articles he had published in An-Nahar. The first book focused on the link between the democratic transition in Syria and Lebanon's independence, while the second highlighted the contradiction between the principles of liberty and republican values on the one hand, and the political role of security apparatuses on the other.
Samir published another book in French "Considérations sur le malheur arabe" (English title: "Being Arab"), which was later translated to a dozen languages. The book analyses the reasons for the aborted Arab renaissance in the late 19th century, refutes the simplistic assessments condemning Arabs to an eternal decline, and points out to the geographical, rather than historical, reasons for Arab populations' current misfortune.
Samir Kassir was assassinated on June 2, 2005, in Beirut, when a bomb placed under his car was detonated. The tragic death of this journalist and writer was one of many attempts to silence Lebanese free thinkers, put an end to the Independence Intifada, and prevent Beirut's winds of liberty from spreading across the region. Samir Kassir, who wrote Beirut's history, has therefore become a part of this history.
The model of intellectual renaissance embodied by Samir Kassir during his life and at the moment of his death, through his articles and academic research, has placed him at the avant-garde of Lebanese and Arab opinion leaders who have paid their life to fight tyranny and lead their country to freedom and independence.
Committed to Samir Kassir's values and aspirations, and believing in the need to renew the Arab culture through freedom of expression, several intellectuals and friends of Samir Kassir established the Samir Kassir Foundation, officially incorporated in Beirut under registry number 30/A.D., dated February 1, 2006.
The Samir Kassir Foundation is a non-profit civic organization, working within the civil society and cultural circles to spread the democratic culture in Lebanon and the Arab world, encourage the new talents of free press, and build the movement for a cultural, democratic, and secular renewal. These are the conditions to lift the Arab populations out of their state of despair.
The Samir Kassir Foundation's mission is built around three pillars:
The Foundation's actions are not limited to the three aforementioned pillars. The Foundation is involved in all what honors Samir Kassir's memory, and contributes to the fulfillment of his thrive for freedom and renaissance. These were the two aspirations to which Samir Kassir dedicated his life.
The history of the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press dates back to 2005 when the European Commission first announced on 7 October 2005, the establishment of this European Union Award during a press conference held in Beirut.
“It is time to realise and to admit that freedom of expression is neither just a detail in countries’ cooperation with Europe nor an option for dialogue. It is an inalienable right, a non-negotiable principle.” With these words, the then-Head of the European Commission Union to Lebanon, Ambassador Patric Renauld, highlighted the raison d’être of this prize. The Samir Kassir Award was established by the European Union to reward journalists from countries in North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf invested in covering issues related to human rights, good governance, rule of law, the fight against corruption, freedom of expression, democratic development, and citizen participation.
This European Union initiative from the very beginning was embraced and supported by friends of Samir Kassir who, on 1 February 2006, launched the Samir Kassir Foundation. The award aims to “legitimise freedom of thought and encourage freedom of the press in countries that have committed to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, in order to assert their rejection of violence, intimidation, threats and recurring and consistent attempts to curtain freedom of expression.”
The first Award ceremony was held on 2 June 2006, on the first anniversary of Samir Kassir’s assassination. During that first edition, two journalists received the prize. In 2007 and 2008, the Samir Kassir Award was divided into two categories: best article and best master’s thesis. Over the years, the award evolved and from 2009 to 2012, it focused exclusively on print journalism, particularly best opinion article and best investigative article. In 2013, a third category was added: best audiovisual news report. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the announcement of the results was postponed till September 10 during a special televised prime-time show. The 2020 edition also included a special Students' Award, granted by students from Lebanese universities.
Since the first award ceremony was held in 2006, the Award was conferred 38 times, recognizing the work of 37 journalists and researchers, comprised of 22 men and 15 women. The winners have included journalists who are living in exile and others who undertake their work at great personal cost, facing risks of persecution and threats to their freedom of expression and their life.
Two journalists won the prize twice: Lebanese journalist Habib Battah in 2006 and 2011 and Iraqi journalist Asaad Zalzali in 2017 and 2018. The Award went 11 times to Egyptian winners, 7 times to Lebanese and Syrian winners, 3 times to Palestinian and Iraqi winners, twice to Tunisian and Moroccan winners, and once to Libyan, Jordanian, and Algerian winners.
Every year the Award jury is composed by seven different people of different nationalities and backgrounds. Four members of the jury originate from the Arab world and three from European Union Member States. Members of the jury among others have included journalists, media professionals, human rights investigators and experts, researchers, civil society and former government representatives recognized for their contribution to advancing human rights causes.
The Award has since become the most prestigious journalism award in the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf region and is recognized globally as one of the top journalism awards.
Members of the Jury:
2006: Hassan Balawi (Palestine), Richard Bteich (Germany), Ariane Bonzon (France), Walid Choucair (Lebanon), Perilhou Henri (France), Elias Khoury (Lebanon), Henri Mamarbachi (Lebanon), Fouad Naïm (Lebanon), and Massimo Tommasoli (Italy).
2007: Tomas Alcoverro (Spain), Mohammed Ali Atassi (Syria), Ziyad Baroud (Lebanon), François Bonnemain (France), Pierre El Daher (Lebanon), Walid Kassir (Lebanon), Jim Muir (United Kingdom), Hassan Tlili (Tunisia), and Layla Al Zubaidi (Germany).
2008: Jean-Paul Chagnollaud (France), Ghassan El Ezzi (Lebanon), Carole Habib Kassir (Lebanon), Alistair Lyon (United Kingdom), Delphine Minoui (France), Hazem Saghieh (Lebanon), and Hani Shukrallah (Egypt).
2009: Jad Al Akhaoui (Lebanon), Nora Boustany (Lebanon), Sari Hanafi (Palestine), Roula Khalaf (Lebanon), Franck Mermier (France), Monica Prieto (Spain), and Lamia Radi (Egypt).
2010: Ahmed Reda Benchemsi (Morocco), Amine Kammourieh (Lebanon), Birgit Kaspar (Germany), Jamal Khashoggi (Saudi Arabia), Nahida Nakad (France), and Maya Yahya (Lebanon).
2011: Samir Aita (Syria), Rula Amin (Palestine), Neji Bghouri (Tunisia), Mona Eltahawy (Egypt), Dominic Evans (United Kingdom), Maroun Labaki (Belgium), and Najib Khairallah (Lebanon).
2012: Lamis Andoni (Palestine), Lasaad Ben Ahmed (Tunisia), Gabriel Deek (Lebanon), Anne-Marie El Hage (Lebanon), Hisham Kassem (Egypt), Lorenzo Trombetta (Italy), and Saad Tazi (Morocco).
2013: Shirine Abdallah (Lebanon), Geraldine Coughlan (United Kingdom), Philippe Dessaint (France), Ghazanfar Ali Khan (India), Sami Moubayed (Syria), Diana Moukalled (Lebanon), and Samia Nakhoul (Lebanon).
2014: Ghaith Abdul Ahad (Iraq), Sanaa El Aji (Morocco), Hind Darwish (Lebanon), Marc Marginedas (Spain), Laila El Raiy (Egypt), Christoph Reuter (Germany), and Marc Saikali (France).
2015: Nada Abdel Samad (Lebanon), Christophe Ayad (France), Sahar Baassiri (Lebanon), Magnus Falkehed (Sweden), Mary Fitzgerald (Ireland), Malek Khadraoui (Tunisia), and Rana Sabbagh (Jordan).
2016: Khalil Abdallah (Palestine), Frédéric Domont (France), Fatemah Farag (Egypt), Sanaa El Jack (Lebanon), Natalie Nougayrède (France), Alberto Toscano (Italy), and Michael Young (Lebanon).
2017: Yassir Mani Benchelah (Algeria), Martin Chulov (Australia), Mark Daou (Lebanon), Alfred Hackensberger (Germany), Michel Hajji Georgiou (Lebanon), Amina Khairy (Egypt), and Isabelle Lasserre (France).
2018: Adnan Hussein (Iraq), Khairallah Khairallah (Lebanon), Rami Khouri (Jordan), Leila Shahid (Palestine), Albana Shala (Netherlands), Benoît Thieulin (France), and Aidan White (United Kingdom).
2019: Fadi El Abdallah (Lebanon), Ammar Abd Rabbo (Syria), Baria Alamuddin (Lebanon), Sofia Amara (Morocco), Thanassis Cambanis (Greece), Alessio Romenzi (Italy), and Biljana Tatomir (Croatia).
2020: Bakhtiar Amin (Iraq), Thijs Berman (Netherlands), Sam Dagher (Lebanon), Farouk Mardam Bey (Syria), Bessma Momani (Jordan), Audrey Pulvar (France), and Cecilia Uddén (Sweden).
INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES:
Email: coordination@prixsamirkassir.org
Tel: +32 496 129 539
THE SAMIR KASSIR AWARD IS AWARDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION.
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