Announcing the winners of the ICRC young reporter competition
19-11-2010
As part of the International Year of Youth, the ICRC launched in August a "Young Reporter" competition, inviting young adults between 18 and 25 to send in an article, photo essay, video or radio piece.
The winners would have a chance to travel to ICRC delegations in Georgia, Lebanon, Liberia, the Philippines and Senegal for a week to talk to young people affected by armed conflict and report back to their peers.
The ICRC received almost 500 applications from young people all over the world. Many of them were outstanding. The five winners stood out, not only because of the quality of the projects they submitted, and the communication skills they displayed, but also because of their humanitarian engagement and their ability to reach out and connect to other young people.
There were also three runners-up, one of whom lives and works in Liberia, while the other currently lives with a host family in Senegal. The third lives in Pakistan. Two of the runners-up will get to team up with the winners assigned to Liberia and Senegal. The third will report on a ICRC project in Pakistan. All eight will travel to Geneva in May, on the World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, to present their "stories from the field".
Discover the winners!
Felipe Jácome, 25, is a freelance photojournalist based in Quito, Ecuador. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Economics, he focused on issues of human mobility and human rights. His photos have been used by international NGOs and the United Nations, and published in magazines such as Foreign Policy Magazine, Mundo Diners, and Siete Días. His photojournalistic piece, entitled “The Vertical Border”, documenting the dangers and difficulties faced by Central and South Americans migrants traveling through Mexico, was exhibited at Georgetown University (Washington DC), at Amnesty International’s Human Rights Action Center (London), and at the Teatro Nacional Sucre (Quito).
Amandine Colin, 22, studied journalism and photojournalism in Belgium and Denmark. She has a strong humanitarian fiber and dreams of becoming a reporter in conflict or post conflict areas. She is more interested in the human angles of such stories than the political one. She wants to bear witness to the struggles of a community, of a woman, of a child, when their world has become a battlefield.
Mariel García Montes, 20, is a philosophy student in Mexico City. She is interested in the use of online media to foster change, highlight culture-related projects, and encourage youth activism. An active member of the British Council's 'Global Changemakers' network for young activists, she has worked in the last six years with many organizations who support young people with big ideas, the latest one being Social Actions. In her free (and not so free) time, she likes to think about gymnastics and food.
Jeremy Boo, 21, studied Mass Communication at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore. He was editor-in-chief of UrbanWire, an online entertainment magazine, and deputy editor of a student newspaper, npTribune. As a person who yearns to tell stories about the human condition, he is now working on an independent documentary and a social media campaign to raise awareness about dementia among young adults.
Polly Fields, 25 is a journalist from the UK with experience in the mediums of print, web, radio and TV. She graduated from University College Falmouth with a Masters (Distinction) in International Journalism and holds a BA (Hons) in English Language. Polly is always on the move and is currently based in her home county of Cornwall, in the far southwest of England. She likes to work on long-term projects and recently returned from the West Bank, where she produced a radio documentary and a written feature about the life of a young, female streetcar racer in Ramallah.
Discover the runners-up!
Sana Masood, 24, is from Paksitan. She holds a Bachelors in Law (LLB) from the University of London. Soon after graduation, she had a chance to volunteer at the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF), a local NGO in Pakistan. Through ASF, she learned about extreme forms of violence against women and young girls. At first, she didn't know what was more appalling: human cruelty or the capacity to bear it… but as soon as she was hired on their DFID-UNDP Gender Justice & Protection (GJP) Project as a Legal Coordinator, and started interacting directly with acid burn survivors, she realized that it was definitely the latter. Hating the crime was one thing but understanding these young women and the exceptional strength they exhibited, even after going through so much, really amazed Sana. She found it ironic that she was expected to empower them through counseling and legal advice, but instead their bravery and courage empowered her. That's when Sana decided to continue her human rights work for women. Working for these very special women is what Sana really enjoys.
Winston Daryoue, 23, is News Editor at Liberia's first and Africa's second women-focused radio station (Liberia Women Democracy Radio). He is the producer and presenter of a 45-minute live phone-in youth-centrered radio program (Round Table) on the Liberia Women Democracy Radio. Winston has produced a 30-minute radio documentary (A Day in the Life of a Rubber Tapper) which was aired on the BBC.
Winston holds a BA in sociology and is the winner of Journalists For Human Rights' 2010 Most Outstanding Reporter of the Year Award.
A victim of the Liberian Civil War, Winston has a strong passion for youth issues. Reporting on the welfare of former child soldiers and vulnerable young people takes a great deal of his time. "I want to use the skills that I have to touch the lives of others; especially vulnerable and deprived young people" he says.
Amanda Brinegar, 18, a high-school graduate from El Paso, Texas, has a passion for telling stories. She served as Editor of her school newspaper’s Features section as well the Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook. She entered several national literary competitions, receiving the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Award for her center spread on the 2008 presidential race. Amanda also has a keen interest in music, poetry, and visual arts. She is currently living with a host family in Louga, Senegal, where, within the framework of a "bridge year" programme called Global Citizen Year, she will be contributing to the community through public health, education and agriculture.