Akbar Ganji: Recipient of the "Dialogue of Cultures" Award

The Foreign Press Association: FPA Media Awards

‘A Dialogue of Cultures’

The Foreign Press Association Media Awards 2005 Winners:

The winners of the Foreign Press Association Media Awards were announced at a ceremony attended by the Rt Hon Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

Mr Straw gave the keynote address on “A Dialogue of Cultures”, which was the theme for this year’s event and marked the presentation of a new award dedicated to a journalist who has excelled in promoting discussion between conflicting sides or has made the journey between different ideologies and cultures.

Also present were leading politicians, celebrities and media personalities including Dr Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar Abdulla, Minister of Information and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Baroness Boothroyd; Sir Bob Geldof; human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger; broadcaster Sue MacGregor; Antonella Notari, global spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross; Lord Owen and FPA external judges Sir Simon Jenkins, Stewart Purvis and Amir Taheri.

The Awards compere was Andrew Rawnsley.

Guests and Awards nominees were welcomed by Annalisa Piras, President of the Foreign Press Association and correspondent for LA7 TV, Italy and by Nazenin Ansari, Vice President of the Foreign Press Association, Chair of the FPA Media Awards and Diplomatic Correspondent for the Iranian newspaper Kayhan (London).

The winners of the 2005 Foreign Press Association Media Awards are:

Environment Story of the Year

Winner:

* Fiona Harvey – ‘The heat is on’ (Financial Times Magazine)

Fiona Harvey’s detailed study of the minority view on climate change is contrasted with mainstream scientific opinion and made a very good case for the sceptics. It was considered to be an unusual, enterprising and thought-provoking approach to one of the big issues of 2005.

Runners-up:

* Jonathan Rugman - ‘Arctic Global Warming’ (Channel 4 News)

Rugman gave an excellent and humorous account of the impact of climate change on native Inuit hunters in the remote Canadian arctic.

* David Shukman - ‘Climate change – Greenland’ (BBC Ten O’clock News)

David Shukman, working with producer Kevin Bishop and cameraman Rob Magee braved extreme conditions to bring the latest scientific findings on the alarming rate of climate change, which has profound implications for us all.

Radio Story of the Year

Winners:

* Laurence Grissell (Producer) and Mike Thomson – ‘Document: A very British coup’ (BBC Radio 4)

Laurence Grissell and Mike Thomson gave an impressive retrospective on the extent the BBC was to blame for some of the events surrounding an Iranian coup in the 1950s. They delved into the Corporation’s history and uncovered confidential documents that indicate it was not as independent as perhaps it should have been.

Runners-up:

* Paul Henley and Leonida Krushelnycky – ‘What's wrong with gay maths?’ (BBC Radio 4)

Paul Henley and Leonida Krushelnycky reported on what is claimed to be the world’s first school entirely for young gay people, based in New York. The piece explored whether there was a need for a special school, and whether it marked the start of many new ‘gay schools’ opening up around the world.

Travel Story of the Year

Winner:

* Jonathan Charles and John Murphy– ‘Crossing continents - crossing Europe - Tourism’ (BBC Radio 4)

Jonathan Charles and John Murphy were praised for their even- handed account of how international travel is expected to double in the next 15 years and how Europe will be the main destination. The piece drew attention to the dangers of uncontrolled tourism and the negative impact of unsustainable tourism.

Runner-up:

* Francis Spufford – ‘On higher Ground’ (Condé Nast Traveller)

Francis Spufford scaled the heights of Machu Piccu, with lush descriptions of the spectacular landscape of Peru and the fascinating people he discovered on his journey high up in the Andes, while suffering from high altitude.

Print or Web Story of the Year

Winner:

* William Dalrymple – ‘Inside Islam's “terror schools”’ (New Statesman)

The judges described William Dalrymple’s article as a piece of well- researched and fine writing, even though at times he put himself in danger. This is the first major investigation by the British press into the Madrassas of Pakistan. It was judged to be a penetrating and intelligent analysis that was brilliantly researched.

Runners-up:

* Anthony Loyd – ‘Vietnamese- style river patrols root out rebels and arms along the Euphrates’ (The Times)

This quality, intense story epitomised the malaise of American involvement in Iraq. It was considered to be a succinct and complete story that recalled the past war in Vietnam and projected it into a future Iraq.

* Lorna Martin – ‘Tragic story behind the picture that shocked us all’ - (The Observer)

Lorna Martin became transfixed by the photograph of a woman seen hanging by her neck during the ethnic cleansing in Srebrenica. On the tenth anniversary of the massacre, she tracked down the woman’s daughter and son – whose father was murdered in the massacre. It was judged to be a very moving and emotionally intense journey for the reader.

Television Story of the Year

Winner:

* Israel Goldvicht and Nick Read for Raw TV. Executive Producer Dimitri Doganis – ‘This World - Inside Israel's Jails’ (BBC)

Inside Israel’s jails presented a remarkable portrait of traditional enemies – uniformed Israeli guards and Palestinian terrorists – who are forced to tolerate each other. Access, trust and balance were intensely difficult to achieve for Nick Read and his crew, but their film succeeded brilliantly in capturing the daily battle of words between the jailers and the jailed. The judges described this as outstanding investigative journalism.

Runners-up:

* Mark Daly and Louise Shorter (Producer) - ‘Murder without a trace: a Rough Justice special’ (BBC)

Mark Daly and Louise Shorter’s two-year investigation brought a potentially very serious miscarriage of justice to public attention and argued that the two convicted men could not have been responsible for a murder. This extraordinary story about police mistakes has resulted in an appeal.

* Angus Stickler – ‘Angola’ (BBC Newsnight)

Angus Stickler’s harrowing report on witchcraft and children accused of being possessed was judged to be a first class piece of old- fashioned journalism. It exposed horrific abuses faced by children both in the UK and in Angola – and so frightened the UK authorities that they tried to get a court injunction against it being broadcast.

Story of the Year by a Foreign Correspondent Based in the UK

Winner:

* Jean-Pierre Langellier- ‘Sayeeda Contre Sahid’ (Le Monde) Jean-Paul Langellier’s exceptional story was about two young Muslim candidates, one Labour and one Conservative, who stood in the May general election in the Dewsbury constituency in West Yorkshire. It was thought to be an evocative and original piece of journalism.

Runner-up:

* Jef McAllister – ‘A secret success’ (Time Europe)

In his informative article, Jef McAllister took a sober look at the impact of immigrants on British society and reached a balanced but surprising conclusion: immigration has been a success story for Britain.

Financial / Economic Story of the Year

Winner:

* Mark Gregory and David Edmonds – ‘Oil for Food: the United Nations on Trial, (parts 1 and 2)’(BBC World Service)

Mark Gregory and David Edmonds gave a detailed and balanced perspective on the UN oil for food scandal, and managed to make the complicated components of the issue both humorous and thoroughly informative.

Runner-up:

* Liam Halligan – ‘Courts pension problem’ (Channel 4 News)

Liam Halligan compelling television documentary covered the pensions’ crisis in the Courts furniture business.

Young Journalist of the Year

Winner:

* Dr Ali Fadhil- ‘Aftermath of battle of Fallujah’ (Channel 4 News)

Ali Fadhil’s piece, praised for its intensity, honesty and bravery, was the first independent witness account in the aftermath of the battle of Fallujah. It questioned the US military’s claims that the city was getting back to normal by confirming that no aid agencies were operating inside Fallujah, and showed images of bodies rotting in the streets, open sewers and refugees living in tents.

Runners-up:

* Katharine Houreld – ‘Gang- raped and pregnant, these women thought their problems were over when they went to the police. They were wrong’. (The Sunday Telegraph)

Katharine Houreld’s brave journey through territory held by Janjaweed militias in Sudan resulted in an astonishing account of how government agents were not only raping women, but also beating and imprisoning those who fell pregnant. The judges praised her for giving a voice to these women.

* Philip Shishkin – ‘Heavy toll: Uzbek crackdown stirs fears of regional unrest’ (The Wall Street Journal Europe)

Philip Shishkin’s intensive investigation described the deadly aftermath of a prison outbreak in Uzbekistan in May that left a large number of innocent civilians dead. The judges commended his perseverance in getting the story despite the obstacles he faced.

Journalist of the Year

(Selected from the winners of the above categories)

Winner:

* Israel Goldvicht and Nick Read for Raw TV. Executive Producer Dimitri Doganis – ‘This World - Inside Israel's Jails’ (BBC)

This was thought to be a fantastic piece of investigative journalism on one of the world’s hot spots – the Middle East. The judges praised the production team for not only managing to get access to a high- security Israeli jail, but for helping the viewer understand the psychologies of both the Israeli prison guard and the Palestinian terrorist. They were particularly impressed by how the experience of this jail helped to explain much about what is going on in the conflict between the two sides in the Middle East, with the message that both must learn to talk to each other to make progress.

Communicator of the Year

Winner:

* Sir Bob Geldof For his mastery and passion in creatively utilising all communication means at his disposal to connect with the spirit and essence of the world at large, in order to convey his vision of a world without poverty and allow his audience the means and the opportunity to become proactively involved in real humane progress.

Miscommunicator of the Year

Winner:

* The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Gordon Brown and the Treasury failed to come to a single interview with the Foreign Press Association in London, despite the UK being President of both the G8 and the EU in 2005, and despite the fact that Mr Brown is always claiming his policies are based on global responsibility and global strategies.

Press Office of the Year

Winner:

* The Metropolitan Police Press Office The Met Police Press Office was praised for its professionalism in satisfying the global media interest after the UK's largest mass terrorist murders of July 7.

Dialogue of Cultures

Winner:

*Iranian investigative journalist, Akbar Ganji

Akbar Ganji has been in prison for nearly six years for his writings, which implicate the regime’s highest officials, including former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and other leading conservative figures in the murders of five writers and intellectuals in 1998. Mr Ganji was sentenced for “taking part in an offence against national security” and “propaganda against the Islamic system.” In July 2001, he was again brought to trial on charges of “collecting confidential state documents to jeopardise state security” and “spreading propaganda.”

Mr Ganji has reportedly been tortured in prison and has gone on two long hunger strikes. He has defiantly refused to renounce his critique of the state, even if it could win his release.

Born in a poor neighbourhood of Tehran, the 46 year old became a radical Islamist while a teenager, rising to a leadership position in the Revolutionary Guards of the Islamic Republic. His intellectual thirst transformed him from a militant Islamist to an original thinker, a dissident, a defender of the universal concepts of democracy and human rights and an advocate of freedom of expression, separation of state from religion and peaceful civil resistance against tyranny.

Through his writings, Akbar Ganji has encouraged Iranians to cross the divide from a culture of fundamentalism to a culture of freedom. For this he risks losing his life. READ MORE

He has said:

"My voice will not be silenced, for it is the voice of peaceful life, of tolerating the other, loving humanity, sacrificing for others, seeking truth and freedom, demanding democracy, welcoming different lifestyles, separating the private sphere and the public sphere, religion and state, promoting equality of all humans, rationality, and above all, a profound distaste for violence…”

The FPA will honour the life and work of Akbar Ganji by making him the first recipient of the "Dialogue of Cultures" Award.

The FPA judging panel for the 2005 Foreign Press Association Media Awards was: Andrea Morawski, London Correspondent for La Tribune (Chair); Hosny Emam, Bureau Chief, Kuwait News Agency; Rashmee Ahmed, Foreign Editor in London for the Times of India; Kim Bytyci London Correspondent for Deutsche Welle; Michael Drudge, Correspondent for Voice of America, and Etienne Duval, London Correspondent for French Television Arte; Gerhard Elfers from German TV ARD.

External judges were:

Sir Simon Jenkins, distinguished author and broadcaster whose career includes being the editor of The Times, editor of the Evening Standard, political editor of The Economist and founder and editor of the Sunday Times Books section. He was voted as Journalist of the Year and Columnist of the Year and is a Winner of the Booker Prize

Stewart Purvis was for more than 20 years amongst the most senior executives in British television news. From Editor of Channel Four News, to Editor and then Chief Executive of ITN, he was at the helm of one of the world's top news organisations during all the big news events of the past two decades. He was also President of the European news channel EuroNews for five years. He is currently News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media at Oxford University.

Amir Taheri, Iranian author and commentator who was Middle East editor for the London Sunday Times and executive editor-in-chief of Kayhan, Iran's main daily newspaper. He has written for the daily Times and contributed to The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and the Daily Mail among other leading British publications. He has also written for other publications including Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung in Germany, La Repubblica in Italy, L'Express, Politique Internationale and Le Nouvel Observateur in France, El Mundo in Spain, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and The Washington Post.

“We are very pleased that this year’s awards not only attracted the highest number of entries in all categories, but the quality, of both the broadcast and print media was outstanding.” said Nazenin Ansari, Chair of the Awards Committee and Vice President of the Foreign Press Association.

NOTES:

The Foreign Press Association in London is one of the oldest press clubs in the world and represents 700 members from the foreign media and allied organisations from over 70 countries.

The Foreign Press Association acknowledges the generous support of its sponsors:

Amas Investment & Project Services Ltd
Asharq Al-Awsat
Caputo
EDF Energy
Ferrarelle S.p.A.
Fiera Milano Spa
Gallagher Holdings Ltd
Getty Images
Italian Chamber of Commerce and <>Industry for the UK
The Kingdom of Bahrain
Millbank Studios
Miwine
Quadrant Media & Communications Ltd
Paul UK Ltd
Renault UK Ltd
Rolls-Royce
Royal Bank of Scotland
UBS
Virgin Atlantic

For further information and press enquiries please contact:

Nazenin Ansari, Chair of the Media Awards on 07710351 987 (FPAMAC2005@aol.com)

or Marissa Holden, Programme Manager, Foreign Press Association on 020 7930 0445

(marissa.holden@foreign- press.org.uk)

Or visit www.foreign- press.org.uk