According to the unanimous decision of the three-member jury, the award for best story was presented to Hekuran Aqifi for his story “In the wake of the white cane day – are we human society only on paper”, broadcast in the 360-degree TV program, on Alsat M television. The jury said: “the first-awarded is an inspiring story that speaks of people who wake up every day and face their life without being able to see it. However, as the author says, these people confirm that if you have the will and enough courage, the sun’s rays will warm up everyone’s eyes. Through a professional and simple narration, complemented by high-quality visuals, the author asks the question: what is the society we live in and what can we do by listening to the voice of people without sight?”
The second award of the annual CMEM competition was presented to Ana Cvetkovska Toromanoska and Boris Kunoski, for a series of texts published by the Macedonian Information Agency, related to the conditions in the prison and the detention unit in Shutka, the jail corruption and the issue of re-socialization of prisoners.
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| The second award by Ana Cvetkovska Toromanoska and Boris Kunoski | |
The jury decided the third award at the annual competition to be shared by two journalistic works. The first one was presented to Emilija Petreska and Stefania Tenekedzieva for their stories dedicated to the refugees, broadcast on Radio MOF. According to the jury, the two authors presented a very up-to-date topic in a versatile way with strong dedication and using a wide range of sources, in order to unveil the problems of this group of citizens.
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| The third award by Emilija Petreska and Stefania Tenekedzieva | ||
The third award was given to Aleksandar Manasiev and Mirko Trajanovski for the short documentary titled “Collectors”, published on the “Vidi Vaka” portal. It deals with a topic that has never been or has been symbolically treated in the media, by giving voice to people who rarely have the opportunity to publicly talk about problems and are almost socially invisible.
Apart from the awards for the best stories, the jury also decided to present three acknowledgments. To Nikola Zdravkovic for his video story “Who and how landed the powerful ‘Ekonomija’ in a poorhouse and whether there is hope to get it back on the old track”, published in the TV program 360-degree on Alsat M TV.
The jury decided to give another acknowledgement to the story entitled “The teacher from Sveti Nikole and his student with autism: I would lie if I say that it is easy, but it is a great privilege – I learn from him” by Vesna Ivanovska, published on the portal www.fakulteti.mk.
Acknowledgment was also given to the stories published in the magazine “Face to Face”. The following stories were acknowledged: „Refugees in their own country” by Ana Risteska, “Magazine after magazine to a house” by Maja Ravanska и “Parachutists with special challenges” by Jane Stefanov.
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| Acknowledgment for Aneta Risteska, Maja Ravanska and Jane Stefanov | ||
“It takes a sense of justice, devotion and work to raise the awareness about the problems of most sensitive and marginalized groups of citizens. Placing the focus on violation of human rights is the only way to make a change. Human rights protection is the pillar of the European Union’s project and philosophy,” said in his address Samuel Zbogar, head of the EU Delegation in Macedonia.
Santa Argirova presided with the jury composed of Vesna Nikodinoska and Seljadin Xhezairi.
At this year’s competition, the Council received 62 applicant stories from 35 authors, 28 of which were published on Internet portals, 10 in print media, 13 on television, 8 on radio and 3 on other media platforms.
The awards are financially supported by UNESCO and the EU within the project “Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey”.