What a night!
Journalists and filmmakers from all over the world gathered at BAFTA to celebrate the 31st Annual One World Media Awards. Jon Snow hosted an incredible evening, recognising the year’s best international media coverage.
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees, and a huge thank you to everyone involved in making this year’s Awards such an inspiring and celebratory event!
(Top Left: John Snow congratulating Student Award winner, Sarah Cowan. Top Right: Doc Society Foundation Director, Sarah Whipman with Feature Documentary Award winner, Sahra Mani. Middle Left: New Voice Award nominee, Yousra Elbagir at the awards reception. Middle Right: Alumni from the One World Media Fellowship. Bottom Left: Guillermo Galdos, winner of International Journalist of the Year Award. Bottom Left: Louise Donovan, Elle UK receiving the Popular Features Award from journalist, Jenny Kleeman)
“I am honoured & immensely proud to be recognised by this special organisation. One World Media are leading the way in highlighting the injustices around the world & the brave work of journalists in bringing the stories to light. As television habits change and people are living within social media echo chambers the work of One World Media is more important than ever. Sharing time and space with all the talented nominees was truly humbling & I believe it will have a positive impact on me & my career for the rest of my life.”
– Guy Siggers, Sky News (News Award Winner 2019)
The evening began with a reception in BAFTA’s main hall. The atmosphere was electric as world class journalists reunited with old colleagues, up and coming talent rubbed shoulders with their heroes, and producers, filmmakers and media professionals from all over the world came together to celebrate outstanding international reporting.
(Panel: The One World Media team enjoy the reception. Top Left: Student Award winner, Sarah Cowan. Top Right: One World Media volunteers welcome guests. Bottom Left: One World Media Trustees catch up at the reception. Bottom Right: Jon Snow talking with One World Media Fellow.
Before long, it was time to take our seats for the evening’s much anticipated awards announcements. As Jon Snow took to the stage to introduce the first category, the audiences’ nervous chatter hushed to a silence and the ceremony began…
“The One World Media Awards are unique in that they acknowledge the role the media plays in helping people stay on top of the latest news and understand the world around them. They celebrate exceptional coverage of international stories and, at the same time, the media’s potential to have an impact and create change. They are ultimately, and importantly, a recognition of the people in this audience, and those working on the ground, who tell stories that simply would not otherwise be heard.”
– Jon Snow, Channel 4 News and host of the One World Media Awards 2019
(Top: Jon Snow presents the One World Media Awards ceremony. Left: Nisha Kapur, BBC Africa Eye accepts the TV Documentary Award. Middle: Sahra Mani receives Feature Documentary Award from Sarah Whipman. Right: Abdulwareth Al Bakour, Radio Fresh accepts Special Award. Panel Below: Jonathan Charles presents BBC Africa Eye with TV Documentary Award.)
“For me, this One World Media Award is a fantastic award to have won as it promotes serious in-depth journalism in far reaches of the world. Many of these stories don’t get enough serious attention nowadays, because media budges are cut, editors’ horizons are shrinking and fewer staff correspondents are based outside the main capitals. Many great journalists are represented among the winners so I’m really proud to be alongside them.”
– Sarah Helm, The Guardian (Print Award Winner 2019)
(Left: Director Sahra Mani and Julia Farrington with award presenter Sandra Whipham, Foundation Director, Doc Society. Middle: Abdulwareth Al Bakour (Radio Fresh) with award presenter Ihtisham Hibatullah, Manager, International Communications, Al Jazeera. Right: Louise Donovan (ELLE UK) with award presenter Jenny Kleeman, Journalist and One World Media Workshop Leader.)
Across 15 categories, the Awards celebrate work from all media platforms and across a wide range of genres and themes. From Radio Fresh, an independent Syrian media organisation broadcasting despite the dangers, to emerging journalist Yen Duong boldly reporting on marginalised communities in Vietnam, the evening highlighted the incredible work being carried out across the world to shed light on underreported stories.
With a room full of some of the bravest and most talented journalists and filmmakers in the industry, it was hard not to feel inspired as Jon Snow closed the ceremony with these impassioned words:
“We live in an age where we can reach more people than we have ever been able to reach before, with more devices, more systems, and more methods than we’ve ever had at our disposal. This is what can bring the world together.
We are at the cutting edge of producing the information and the evidence that will drive people to come together to win the things that we need to win: To win human rights. To win climate change. To win change for the better for society right across the world.
This is a terribly important organisation. This is the crucible of something much bigger. We must continue to support it, and to look after it, and allow it to flourish still further.”
– Jon Snow
(Keira Malik (True Vision) with award presenter Zoe Abrams, Executive Director of Communications & Advocacy, British Red Cross)
“Now, more than ever before the One World Media Awards are so important to highlight the silent work of journalists reporting real life stories in a world of fake news. I feel privileged that my work has been selected. One World has made these stories more available, more visible. All my gratitude for that.”
– Guillermo Galdos, Channel 4 News (International Journalist of the Year Award Winner 2019)
