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.

The best editorial cartoons of the year: The European Cartoon Award announces its 2023 Shortlist

The European Press Prize and Studio Europa Maastricht, founders of the European Cartoon Award, proudly announce the 16 Nominees of the 2023 edition of the contest. This year’s Shortlist includes cartoons selected among over 400 entries from more than 25 countries.

Sixteen nominated cartoons

The works of the 16 finalists were selected from over 400  coming from more than 25 countries, European and beyond, by a Jury composed of award-winning cartoonists, journalists, and experts.

Niels Bo Bojesen, Danish cartoonist and Chair of the Panel of Judges: “During the lengthy process of selection, it has been rewarding to witness the variety and mastery of the many submissions, ranging from sheer poetry to stark and striking statements – and anything in between. As always it is difficult – and sometimes painful – to have to choose from an even field, but recognising the shared capacity of the members of the Jury, I am confident we have been able to help shine a light on the high level of current European editorial cartooning.”

Here is the list of the 16 Nominees the finalist cartoons belong to:

Angel Boligán (Mexico), António Antunes (Portugal), Ben Jennings (United Kingdom), Cláudio Antônio Gomes (Brazil), Cristina Sampaio (Portugal), Emad Hajjaj (Jordan), Harry Burton (Ireland), Marco De Angelis (Italy), Marilena Nardi (Italy), Mihai Gabriel Boboc (Romania), Patrick Chappatte (Switzerland), Plop & KanKr (France), Raimundo Rucke Souza (Brazil), Sinisa Pismestrovic (Austria), Tjeerd Royaards (The Netherlands), Víctor Solís (Mexico).

Emanuele Del Rosso, Deputy Director of the ECA: “The 16 finalists, and in general the entire Longlist, show us so clearly that editorial cartoons are like an antibody that helps us keep our society healthy. Cartoonists point to all the problems, the pathogen agents, that attack our democracies. They point them out to us and, hopefully, help us deal with such issues. I am very proud of being part of the ECA, because we help cartoonists doing their precious job.”

The 2023 Panel of judges

The jury for the 2023 edition consists 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.

Before narrowing down to the 16 Nominees, the ECA 2023 jury selected a Longlist of 40 cartoons, listed below. 

The Award Ceremony in The Hague

The Winners of the ECA 2023 will be announced on September 14, at the Beeld & Geluid museum in The Hague. The Ceremony will be part of the first edition of the ECA ‘Cartoons Day’, a one-day event entirely dedicated to editorial cartoons. 

From the early afternoon until the late evening, experts, activists, artists and cartoonists will sit together in the rooms of the Beeld & Geluid Museum of The Hague for workshops and panels, book presentations and talks. They will connect with their audience, draw their cartoons, and teach the subtle art of editorial cartoons.

After 18.30, when all the afternoon activities will finish, the Award Ceremony will begin, and this year’s Judges will present the Winner, Runners-up and Honourable Mentions on stage.

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

Registrations for the event are open, at this link: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/eca-cartoons-day-2023-award-ceremony-exhibition-opening-tickets-630038300517

THE ECA 2023 SHORTLIST AND LONGLIST

ECA 2023 Shortlist

Angel Boligán (Mexico), António Antunes (Portugal), Ben Jennings (United Kingdom), Cláudio Antônio Gomes (Brazil), Cristina Sampaio (Portugal), Emad Hajjaj (Jordan), Harry Burton (Ireland), Marco De Angelis (Italy), Marilena Nardi (Italy), Mihai Gabriel Boboc (Romania), Patrick Chappatte (Switzerland), Plop & KanKr (France), Raimundo Rucke Souza (Brazil), Sinisa Pismestrovic (Austria), Tjeerd Royaards (The Netherlands), Víctor Solís (Mexico).

ECA 2023 Longlist

Apart from the shortlisted cartoonists above, the Longlist includes:

Ahmad Rahma (Turkey), Darko Drljevic (Montenegro), Gabriele Corvi (Italy), Gatis Šļūka (Latvia), Hajo De Reijger (The Netherlands), Khalid Cherradi (Morocco), Luc Vernimmen (Belgium), Maarten Wolterink (The Netherlands), Max Murashko (Ukraine), Michael Kountouris (Greece), Muzaffar Yulchiboev (Uzbekistan), Nahid Maghsoudi (Iran), Oleksiy Kustovsky (Ukraine), Osama Hajjaj (Jordan), Paolo Lombardi (Italy), Pawel Kuczynski (Poland), Petar Pismestrovic (Austria), Philippe Baumann (Switzerland), Sanaz Bagheri (The Netherlands), Silvan Wegmann (Switzerland), Silvano Mello (Brazil), Stellina Chen (Taiwan), Thiago Lucas (Brazil), Vladimir Kazanevsky (Ukraine).