European Press Prize Award Ceremony
Hosted by Blinken OSA
The 2018 European Press Prize winners were announced on March 14 in Budapest at Blinken OSA, recognizing outstanding contributions to journalism from across the continent. Winners include Michael Obert in Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, Stéphane Foucart and Stéphane Horel in Le Monde, Dragan Bursać for Al Jazeera and Ida Nyegård Espersen in Jyllands-Posten.
The press release about the event stressed, that it marked a culturally significant day—the commemoration of the 1848 Hungarian Revolution—at a historically significant time. During the revolution, one of the key demands was abolishing censorship. Today, Hungary is gearing up for national elections under Viktor Orbán, whose ruling party seeks to undermine press independence.
“By hosting the European Press Prize Award Ceremony in Budapest, we want to emphasize the importance of an open, free and well-functioning press to democracy", said Yoeri Albrecht, board member of the European Press Prize, Director of Amsterdam’s cultural debate center De Balie, and member of the Open Society Foundations’ European Advisory Board. “The setting also serves as a warning on what can happen when press freedom is not protected.”
The ceremony was hosted by Antónia Mészáros, former TV presenter and correspondent for the BBC, now executive director of UNICEF. The keynote speaker was Miklós Haraszti, former OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and professor on global press freedom.
For more information about the Prize and its winners or if you wish to publish any of the translated works, please contact: Milou Dirkx milou@europeanpressprize.com. For comments on the state of media freedom in Hungary and Europe, please contact: Lily Schim van der Loeff + 31 62 700 6043 lily@europeanpressprize.com