The Open Society Foundations are pleased to announce the following recognitions awarded to various grantees and partners working on Latin America.
New Journalism Awards
Gustavo Gorriti, founder and director of IDL-Reporteros in Peru, was awarded the New Journalism Prize by the prestigious New Ibero-American Journalism Foundation (Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano, FNPI). Created by Nobel Prize Laureate Gabriel García Márquez, this is the highest award given by the FNPI, which was awarded for Gorriti’s life-long contributions to investigative journalism. The FNPI praised Gorriti for "boldly tackling difficult cases of coverage, such as those relating to authoritarianism, corruption, drug dealing and conflicts" that have affected his country.
Latin American Studies Association Media Award
Representing ElFaro.net, founder and director Carlos Dada was awarded the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Media Award for his work in setting up El Salvador’s first digital newspaper and for his commitment to investigative journalism in violent situations.
Central American Icarus Festival for Documentary Films
The documentary film Maria in No Man’s Land (María en Tierra de Nadie), coproduced by El Faro and directed by Marcela Zamora, won first prize at the Central American Icarus Festival for documentary films (Festival Ícaro) in late 2010. Extending from El Faro’s work on undocumented migrants traveling through Mexico to reach the United States, the film focuses on the specific situation of women undertaking this perilous journey.
Latin American Prize for Investigative Journalism
Winning third place in the international Latin American Prize for Investigative Journalism from the Institute for Society and the Press (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad) and Transparency International was Salvadoran journalist Óscar Martínez from ElFaro.net. He received the award for his work, “On the Road” (“En el camino”), an investigation into the plight of undocumented Central American migrants traveling through Mexico. Martínez and his team spent several months traveling with and interviewing some of the most vulnerable people in Mexico as they made their journey northward to the United States. As part of this project, Martínez published a book, The Migrants That Don’t Matter (Los migrantes que no importan), which was recognized by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the 25 most important books of the year.
Youth Journalism Prize “La Pepa 2012”
Eduardo Ponces Roldán, a Spanish photographer working with the investigative reporting website ElFaro.net, was awarded the Youth Journalism Prize “La Pepa 2012” for digital journalism. The prize, awarded by the Association of Spanish Journalists (Federación de Asociaciones de Periodistas de España), recognizes young professionals under the age of 35 working on the defense of freedom, equality, justice, and human rights.
Maria Moors Cabot Prize
Carlos Fernando Chamorro, founder and editor of the Nicaraguan paper Confidencial and director of the nightly television debate program Esta Noche, won the 2010 Columbia University Maria Moors Cabot Prize for outstanding reporting on Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 1995, Chamorro has dedicated himself to promoting independent media with no ties to political parties, committed to investigating public and private power, and promoting citizen rights.
Samuel Chavkin Journalism Prize
Colombian investigative journalist Hollman Morris was awarded the 2010 Samuel Chavkin Prize for Integrity in Latin American Journalism by the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA). Through this prize and associated fund, NACLA supports frontline journalistic projects that contribute to social justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. Morris has been covering the armed conflict in Colombia for more than 15 years, and has been recognized for his work in exposing human rights abuses in the country. He currently holds a position as a Harvard University Nieman Fellow and has been named the winner of the 2011 Nuremberg International Human Rights Award.
International Award for Social Communication
In April 2010, the Latin America and the Caribbean branch of the Global Association of Community Radios (Asociación Mundial de Radios Comunitarias, AMARC-ALC) was awarded the International Award for Social Communication at the International Journalism Festival, in Perugia, Italy. The award recognized AMARC-ALC for strengthening the radio sector during the Haitian and Chilean earthquakes.
Construction of Memory Prize
In December 2010, the Center for Memory, Peace, and Reconciliation (Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación) awarded its first annual Construction of Memory Prize to Verdad Abierta. A project of the Ideas for Peace Foundation (Fundación Ideas para la Paz), Verdad Abierta documents the ongoing armed conflict in Colombia. The prize for the best Internet work was awarded to seven journalists for their multimedia series “Un pulso a las verdades en los Montes de María” and “Las verdades del conflicto en Magdalena y Cesar.”