Our second Community Event with iMEdD

From 28 to 30 September, our Member iMEdD will bring together the global journalism community for its International Journalism Forum, three days of discussions around journalism and innovation, and how they can co-create the industry’s next day.

On the second day of the Forum, 29 September, we will host our 2023 Community Event.

Here is what we will talk about, and other events not to be missed.

The fifth edition 

This year is the fifth edition of the International Journalism Forum, an initiative designed to provide journalists and all attendees with opportunities for knowledge-sharing, networking and inspiration. 

For 2023, the Forum will be called “Today’s Focus. Tomorrow’s stories.”

For three days, journalists, media professionals, academics, journalism students, independent media and established organisations will gather to discuss some of the most important topics concerning journalism today. From press freedom to the challenges of artificial intelligence, from new methods and tools of data journalism to the coverage of the climate crisis, from media independence to new sustainability schemes, the Forum provides a place to discuss today’s topics and draw inspiration for tomorrow’s stories.

The second Community Event in Athens

After our Community Event in 2022, we are happy and honoured that iMEdD is hosting our Community Event for the second year. On 29 September, Laureates and other Community members like Preparatory Commitee members and Judges will have a space to come together; a space designed for knowledge sharing, and where ideas can be shared to spark important discussions. 

To do this, we have curated a specific programme, solely dedicated to our Community, built on three pillars: inspiration, learning and sharing.

INSPIRATION – For the first part of the day, our attendees will listen to a series of lightning talks, with the aim of inspiring one another. We will hear Şebnem Arsu, Turkey-based reporter for Der Spiegel and member of our PrepCom, telling us about intimidation of Turkey’s critical media and ways to circumvent it; our Laureate Omer Benjakob will talk about “Flight of the Predator,” the cross-border journalistic investigation into digital arms deals nominated for the Prize in 2023; Jose Miguel Calatayud, Prize Winner in 2022 with “Cities for Rent,” will discuss how to use satire to reach wider and more diverse audiences across Europe; and with 2023 Laureates César Dezfuli & José Bautista we will hear about other ways of telling migration stories.

LEARNING – In the second part, we will focus on sustainability. In a time of poly-crisis and unpredictability, sustainability in journalism is needed more than ever. Sustainability has many facets, from financial to ecological, and mental health and well-being are vital to building sustainable and enduring teams ready for a rapidly changing landscape for reporting.

Through a two-part workshop by The Self-Investigation, a global nonprofit catalysing a healthy work culture in the media and communication industries by placing well-being and mental health as a core business strategy and value, participants will look at sustainability through two levels. The first part of the workshop will focus on the sustainability of the self, with a focus on individual tools and practices for managing stress and promoting well-being. The second part of the workshop will focus on how team leaders can foster work cultures that centre on mental health while also encouraging the best from their teams. 

SHARING – Lastly, we will close our activities with a panel around the theme of leadership in journalism – and its many forms and different challenges. Winny de Jong (Chief data editor at NRC newspaper and member of our Preparatory Committee) will moderate a conversation with Iliana Papangeli (journalist and managing director of Solomon, Greece), Lucila Rodríguez-Alarcón (co-founder and executive director of porCausa, Spain), Besa Luci (co-founder and editor-in-chief of Kosovo2.0, Republic of Kosovo) and Jakub Górnicki (co-founder and reporter at Outriders, Poland).

Mark your calendars

Apart from our closed programme, many are the sessions not to be missed.

Other sessions to keep an eye on

Day1

Day2

Day3

EPPisodes, a live journalism performance

As the European Press Prize, we are proud to see our live journalism format “EPPisodes” being listed as closing panel of the Forum. EPPisodes is a format brought by the European Press Prize, that brings the journalistic stories from the Prize’s Community to life.

Presenting the journalistic stories of the European Press Prize Community live on stage, “EPPisodes” will be an exciting odyssey from the depths of the ocean to the cafés of the Balkans, and from family secrets and the hidden lives of immigrants to the stories of pirates and their hostages. 

The session will start at 19:00 on September 30 in the Main Hall. Experience the power of our storytellers, live on stage.

The ECA Travelling Exhibition

For the entire duration of the Forum, the “Travelling Exhibition” of the European Cartoon Award will be on display, featuring 20 editorial cartoons belonging to the European Cartoon Award 2023 Longlist. The cartoons are divided into five main topics: Ukraine Invasion, Workers’ Rights and Inequality, Iranian Women, Migrations, and Climate. The Deputy Director of the ECA, Emanuele Del Rosso, will give a tour of the exhibition.

Find us in the Media Village

If you will be in Athens for #iMEdDIJF2023 and would like to discuss anything with the European Press Prize team, you can find us in the Media Village for the entire duration of the Forum, alongside other independent media and journalistic organisations.

The European Cartoon Award announces its 2023 winners

Live from the Beeld & Geluid museum in The Hague, the European Press Prize and Studio Europa Maastricht, founders of the European Cartoon Award, proudly announced the name of the Winner and Runners-up of this year’s edition of the contest.

The first prize was awarded to the UK-based cartoonist Ben Jennings, for his work published in The Economist. The two Runners-up are cartoonists Harry Burton (Ireland) and Patrick Chappatte (Switzerland). Honourable Mentions were awarded to Tjeerd Royaards (Netherlands) and Víctor Solís (Mexico).

ECA 2023 Winner, by Ben Jennings (published by The Economist)

The Winner and Runners-up

Ben Jennings’ cartoon, published by The Economist, comments on the treatment of migrant workers during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. 

Ben Jennings: “The intention of the cartoon was to depict this injustice in a succinct and impactful way, by having a Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup wooden football table in the shape of a coffin, with the players resembling the workers that perished.”

Together with the other winning works, Ben Jennings’ cartoon was selected from the 16 Nominees (available below), chosen from over 400 submissions coming from more than 29 countries, European and beyond. 

The cartoons of the two runners-up, Harry Burton (published in the Irish outlet Irish Examiner) and Patrick Chappatte (published in the German newspaper Der Spiegel), respectively comment on the COP27 held in Egypt in 2022 and the invasion of Ukraine. 

ECA 2023 Runner-up, by Harry Burton (published by Irish Examiner)

ECA 2023 Runner-up, by Patrick Chappatte (published by Der Spiegel)

Emanuele Del Rosso, Deputy Director of the European Cartoon Award: “This year’s winning cartoons deal with universal topics. Workers’ rights, the lack of willingness of the powerful to acknowledge the climate crisis, and of course the Ukraine invasion by the hand of Putin. Especially the winner cartoon, by Ben Jennings, illustrates the condition of the workers that built the World Cup stadiums so strikingly, showing us both their nearness with death and impossibility of escaping the cruel game they are subject to. This image is worth a million words.”

Two Honourable Mentions

The jury decided to award two Honourable Mentions, to Tjeerd Royaards and Víctor Solís, for cartoons published by the Dutch newspaper Trouw and the Spanish environmental journalism platform EFEVerde.

ECA 2023 Honourable Mention, by Tjeerd Royaards (published by Trouw)

ECA 2023 Honourable Mention, by Víctor Solís (published by EFEVerde)

Niels Bo Bojesen, chair of the Panel of Judges: “Both of the jury’s Honourable Mentions bear the hallmarks of quality cartooning: 

Royaards is cunningly presenting us for a seemingly idyllic beach scene, but further investigation reveals the harsh reality of migrants on deadly Mediterranean waves – lives and life vests adrift.  

Solís’ take on poetic creativity grabs us by the heart. The human spirit in the shape of a child, insisting on a better world – against all odds.  A cartoon that speaks to us on a level most cartoons cannot reach.”

Announced during the ECA first ‘Cartoons Day’

The winners of the ECA 2023 were announced during the Award Ceremony held at the Beeld & Geluid museum in The Hague. The Ceremony was part of the first edition of the ECA ‘Cartoons Day’, a one-day event entirely dedicated to editorial cartoons organised with the support of the Municipality of The Hague, the Stimuleringsfonds voor de Journalistiek, the museum Beeld & Geluid and Cartooning for Peace.

Jennifer Athanasiou-Prins, Deputy Director of the European Press Prize: “At the European Press Prize, celebrating, learning and nourishing are at the heart of everything we do. By celebrating the best journalism every year, we map the field of quality journalism – expanding our Community as a result thereof. By creating spaces where our Community can gather to learn from one another, we do our best to nourish that Community by connecting journalists and, in the case of the ECA specifically, cartoonists from Europe and beyond. With the ECA Cartoons Day, we are proud to combine these three pillars that we believe in so strongly: celebrating and connecting cartoonists – creating a space for them where values meet, ideas are shared and discussion is sparked.”

Gonny Willems, Director of Studio Europa Maastricht: “Cartoonists have once again shown their indispensable commitment to freedom of expression. Through images, cartoonists transcend boundaries and hold up a mirror and show us what works and what does not work in our society. Such is the case with Ben Jennings’ winning cartoon. His thought-provoking cartoon about migrant workers’ rights in Qatar immediately invites debate.”

Experts, activists, artists and cartoonists sat together in the rooms of the Beeld & Geluid museum for workshops and panels. 

After the Award Ceremony, an exhibition showcasing the 40 longlisted works of the ECA 2023 was inaugurated in the main hall and entrance of the museum. The exhibition can be visited until December 3, 2023.

The 2023 Panel of judges

The jury for the 2023 edition consisted of: the winner of the European Cartoon Award 2022 Carlos Fuentes, from Cuba, Danish cartoonist Niels Bo Bojesen (Chair), Dutch cartoonist Jip van den Toorn, French journalist Catherine André, and French cartoonist and President of Cartooning for Peace Patrick Lamassoure.

The ECA 2023 Shortlist and Longlist

The jury selected the 16 finalist works from over 400 entries coming from more than 29 countries, European and beyond. Read more about it and see all the cartoons here.