Thomas van Neerbos steps down as Director of the European Press Prize

[Amsterdam, September 26, 2023]: After being in charge for over a decade, Thomas van Neerbos will resign as Director of the European Press Prize on October 1st. He leaves an organisation that, thanks to him, grew stronger both in name and in numbers, becoming one of the most relevant awards for journalism in the world.

Nienke Venema, Chair of the Board of the European Press Prize: “Thomas has shaped The European Press Prize almost since it was founded. With great talent, hard work and a devotion to quality journalism Thomas has been the centre of developing the organisation, the prizes and their standing in European journalism. Thomas can hand over a true success to his successor, who will be announced shortly.”

Thomas applauding the winners during the 2018 Award Ceremony in Budapest.

11 years supporting journalists

The European Press Prize was founded in 2012 to support and celebrate the journalistic profession, in jeopardy due to external pressures and a changed market.

Thomas van Neerbos was asked by the founding organisations in 2013 to lead this, at the time, small venture into international waters. He did so by focusing on the human side of journalism, on the people who make this profession: journalists. He explains: “By focusing our attention on people we could care for them individually, applaud their individual bravery or sacrifice, their struggles and the results of that struggle: the beautiful work they produced.”

His approach made the Prize grow year by year, starting from a few hundred submissions to reaching over a thousand, coming from everywhere in Europe. The Prize is now a well of stories and talent, with at its core a Community made of passionate professionals who carry on the organisation’s mission: contributing to independent quality journalism in Europe.

Again, Thomas van Neerbos: “Together with that treasure chest of eleven years worth of winning and nominated articles, our Laureates are the true wealth of the European Press Prize. A group of people connected by being the best, being involved in a project selected out of hundreds of entries. Quality journalists that can help each other with new projects and insights, help with collaborations, help each other become better journalists.”

european press prize 2022

Thomas introducing the 2022 ‘ten year anniversary’ Award Ceremony in Madrid.

Continuing on an established course

The Bureau of the Prize has become, over the years, together with the Preparatory Committee, the core of the organisation.

Building a team of engaged professionals to support quality journalism is what Thomas has called his greatest achievement for the Prize: “I am leaving now to focus on ‘that other job’: speechwriting and speaker coaching – the art of persuasion in all shapes and forms. But I could have never left if the Press Prize was not in very capable hands. I leave next week in the firm knowledge that the Bureau is more professional than ever, and will be able to handle everything thrown at them with care and conviction, and grow this Prize in ways I could never have imagined.”

It is following his teachings that the Bureau of the Prize will continue to work on making this organisation stronger and, above all, sustaining quality European journalism and supporting the community of hundreds of journalists that grew around the Prize.

The Prize Bureau: “Working together with, and under the lead of, Thomas was a privilege, both because of the kindness and the dedication he put into his work and the relationship with his colleagues as well as the Prize’s stakeholders. He will be missed. We learned a lot from him, and we will continue to work following the course that he charted so well.

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.