EU Launches 17th Edition of the 'Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press'

The European Union and the Samir Kassir Foundation launched Wednesday the 17th edition of the “Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press”.

The award, which has been granted by the European Union since 2006, honors the Lebanese journalist and writer Samir Kassir, who was assassinated in 2005. The competition for the award has attracted since its creation more than 3,000 candidates from the Middle East, the Gulf and North Africa.

In a video message aired on social media and television, European Union Ambassador to Lebanon, Ralph Tarraf, encouraged journalists from across the region to participate in this year’s edition.

“Together, let us continue defending freedom of expression and keeping democracy alive,” he said.

President of the Samir Kassir Foundation, Gisèle Khoury, highlighted the importance of the award as “a perpetuation of a legacy that believes in freedom of expression.” She added: “It is a beacon of hope for new journalists to help them preserve their profession and their freedom.”

The contest is open to candidates from North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf. The deadline for sending in contributions is 1 April 2022. Three awards will be granted for the best:

- Opinion Article

- Investigative Article

- Audiovisual News Report

The contributions must be centered on one or more of the following topics: rule of law, human rights, good governance, fight against corruption, freedom of expression, democratic development, and citizen participation. The winner of each of the three categories will receive a prize of €10,000.

The jury will be composed of seven voting members from Arab and European media and one observer representing the European Union. The names of the jury members will be communicated during the prize-awarding ceremony, which will take place on 1 June 2022 in Beirut, on the eve of the 17th anniversary of Samir Kassir’s assassination.

The contest regulations, application forms and details of the candidature file are available on the following website: www.samirkassiraward.org

Registration closes on 1 April 2022.