AFP launches 2019 Kate Webb Prize for Asian journalists

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 26 September 2019

Agence France-Presse has launched the 2019 Kate Webb Prize to recognize exceptional Asian journalists doing difficult and dangerous work across the region.

The contest is open to locally hired Asian photo, video, and text journalists, for work published during 2019.

The deadline for applications is November 15, and the winner, who will be selected by a panel of experienced journalists, will receive 3,000 euros (approximately $3,300).

"Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region continue to pose significant challenges for press freedoms and investigative journalism in particular," said Philippe Massonnet, AFP’s regional director.

"The Kate Webb Prize aims to recognize and support local journalists who take on those challenges, often without the logistical and protective backing of a large media organization," he added.

Freelance reporter Asad Hashim won the 2018 prize for his coverage of the plight of ethnic Pashtuns and blasphemy issues in his native Pakistan.

The Kate Webb Prize, now in its 11th year, is named after a crusading AFP reporter who died in 2007 at the age of 64 after a colorful career covering the world's trouble spots — including Afghanistan.

Webb, who was born in New Zealand, earned a reputation for bravery while covering the Vietnam War and other historic events in Asia during a career spanning four decades. She is remembered as a mentor and an inspiration to Asian journalists in countries where she worked.

The prize is administered by AFP and the Webb family.

Other winners have included Reporter Mratt Kyaw for coverage of ethnic strife in his native Myanmar, the independent Afghan TV station Tolo and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

Please send applications by email to the Kate Webb Prize Jury at katewebbprize@afp.com no later than midnight in Hong Kong (1600 GMT) on November 15, 2019.

Applicants should submit the following:

1. A letter to the AFP Kate Webb Prize Jury explaining why you deserve the award.

2. A CV with two professional references.

3. For reporters and photographers, at least three (3) samples of your work published on different dates in 2019. They can be submitted in PDF format as they appeared in the publications, or via links to the online versions.

4. For video journalists, at least three (3) samples of your work broadcast or published online in 2019 via links to YouTube or other hosting sites.

5. The jury will accept work in English or any Asian national language provided that there is an English translation. Photo captions and video scripts (or subtitles) must be in English.

The competition excludes AFP staff, stringers, and their relatives. — AFP