Tbilisi, 2 February 2024 – Today, the Acting Head of the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia, Dr. Tibor Kozma, awarded the EUMM Special Prize for Peace Journalism to Mamuka Kuparadze and Madina Gagloeva from Studio Re for their documentary film “Under the Shadow of Conflict” . The film depicts the daily life of two families living on both sides of the Administrative Boundary Line in the Odzisi area.
The EUMM Peace Prize will enable Mr. Kuparadze and Ms. Gagloeva to engage in another joint media project in 2024.
Power to reach hearts and minds
“Last year, Georgia marked 15 years since the 2008 war. Fifteen years later, some wounds have been partially healed, but many – unfortunately – still remain open. Relations between conflict-affected communities remain severed, with fences and barbed wires separating former neighbours, classmates and friends from each other,” said Dr. Tibor Kozma, the Acting Head of EUMM, in his speech during the award ceremony.
“We contribute to stability through our monitoring and reporting. But you , as journalist, can reach the hearts and minds of people living in Georgia. And it is your compelling stories that help bring Georgians, Ossetians, Abkhaz – and others – closer to each other. You can give them hope for a common, prosperous future,” said the Acting Head of EUMM.
In his speech, Dr. Kozma highlighted that it is already the 11th year that EUMM has been rewarding the best conflict-sensitive reporting in the country. “This year we have seen submissions not only from Georgian, but also Abkhaz, Ossetian and ethnic Armenian journalists; from Tbilisi and across the regions. And not only by professional journalists, but also from bloggers, activists, students. This gives us hope. This gives us hope that the desire for conflict resolution runs deep in the society,” concluded the Acting Head of EUMM.
Honourable mentions
In addition to the EUMM Special Prize winners, the following journalists received an honourable mention for their outstanding journalistic works:
- Tata Beraia (Current Time) for her article Battle of Sukhumi Ended 30 Years Ago
- Mariam Kvavadze (Tok TV) for her blog piece Time to Collect Remains
- Kristine Marabyan (Jnews.ge) for her article Woman in Conflicts
11th edition of EUMM Special Prize for Peace Journalism
The
EUMM Special Prize for Peace Journalism is one of seven categories of the
EU Prize for Journalism in Georgia
, organised by the
Delegation of the European Union to
Georgia
.
Introduced in 2013, this is the 11th consecutive year of the award. The prize
rewards ethical, independent and conflict-sensitive journalism that contributes
to confidence-building and peace among communities, which is one of the
priorities of the Mission.
List of previous winners:
- 2013 Olesya Vartanyan
- 2014 Gogita Aptsiauri
- 2015 Nino Chipchiuri
- 2016 Gvantsa Doluashvili
- 2017 Nino Gogua
- 2018 Nika Gablishvili
- 2019 Mamuka Kuparadze
- 2020 Ketevan Magradze
- 2021 Zviad Mchedlishvili
- 2022 Lela Kunchulia
The EUMM-sponsored Prize is organised in partnership with Institute for War and Peace Reporting .
Further coverage of the award ceremony is available on EUMM social media accounts: Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .
