THE WINNING ENTRIES OF THE 22ND MARCO LUCHETTA INTERNATIONAL PRESS AWARD COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AND SHED LIGHT ON THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE. THEY ARE THE WORK OF JOURNALISTS WHO, THROUGH WORDS, VOICES AND IMAGES, GIVE ACCOUNT OF EXPLOITATION, TRAGEDY, INJUSTICE AND SUFFERING AMONG MINORS. FROM GAZA TO MYANMAR, FROM ITALIAN PRISONS TO THE BALKAN ROUTE, THESE ARE THE TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO REPORT ON THE MOST TROUBLESOME AND CONTROVERSIAL SITUATIONS.
THE WINNERS OF THE 22ND EDITION
Among the winning stories are those of the nine children of Alaa al-Najjar, a paediatrician from Khan Younis killed last May by an Israeli missile; of migrants kidnapped for ransom along the Balkan route; of child miners in Congo; and of children suffering severe burns from the substances used in soap production.
These are the harrowing subjects featured in the works awarded in the 22nd edition of the Marco Luchetta International Press Award.
The prize consists of seven categories. For each, the Jury – chaired by Marco Damilano, host of Il cavallo e la torre on Rai 3 and columnist for Domani – selected the best work among the many submitted.
In the TV News Award category, the prize goes to Marina Sapia, Foreign Desk Editor at RAI Editorial Directorate, for In Mezz’ora (RAI3). Her report Bare Hands was an undercover investigation into the illegal cobalt mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where children dig for toxic material with their bare hands.
The Radio Award was won by Gianluca Diana, freelance journalist and experienced documentary maker for radio and print, known for his audio reportage from Africa, the Americas and the Middle East. His piece Africana Soap: The Children of Soda, broadcast on RSI Rete Due, reveals the devastating health effects suffered by children in Sierra Leone exposed to caustic soda used in soap production.
In the Italian Press Awardcategory, Raffaella Calandra, reporter for Il Sole 24 Ore and long-time host of the investigative radio show Storiacce on Radio24, wins first place with Never So Many Young People in Prison. Even Juvenile Facilities Are Overcrowded – a powerful investigation into minors serving long sentences after already troubled lives.
The Balkan Route Award goes to Alessia Candito, journalist at La Repubblica covering the Mediterranean, migration and social frontiers. With The Ghosts of the Balkan Route, she documented how migration flows have not decreased but instead shifted to more hidden and dangerous routes, with kidnappings for ransom emerging as a new and deadly threat.
Chiara Avesani, journalist and director for RAI programmes such as Il Fattore Umano, Report and Presa Diretta, and Matteo Delbò, director, cinematographer and David di Donatello Award winner with the short film Monna Lisa, win in the Reportage Award category with Leaving Gaza, a documentary showing how those who have left Gaza have never truly severed their ties with the Strip.
In the International Press Awardcategory, the prize goes to Lorenzo Tondo, international correspondent for The Guardian, who has reported extensively on the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.Together with Malak A. Tantesh, from Gaza, he co-authored One Afternoon in Gaza: Two Families’ Tragedies – Childhoods Cut Short by Israeli Airstrikes, recounting the final moments of a group of children killed within hours of each other and just a few kilometres apart.
The Photography Award goes to Haitham Imad (EPA) for War in First Person, published in Io Donna. A Palestinian photojournalist based in Gaza, Imad works for the European Pressphoto Agency and is recognised as one of the leading voices documenting the humanitarian crisis, displacement, and consequences of the ongoing conflict in the region.
THE JURY
The Jury of the 22nd Marco Luchetta International Press Award is composed of:
Marco Damilano (President), Fabiana Martini (Jury Secretary), Furio Baldassi (President, Order of Journalists of Friuli Venezia Giulia), Paola Barretta (Carta di Roma Association), Carlo Bartoli(President, National Order of Journalists), Fabrizio Brancoli(Deputy Director, NEM – Nord Est Multimedia, Events & Culture and Il Piccolo coordination), Matteo Bruni (Director, Holy See Press Office), Esma Çakir (former President, Foreign Press Association in Italy, correspondent for Turkish news agency DHA), Francesco De Filippo (Head of ANSA Friuli Venezia Giulia), Cristiano Degano (Council Member, National Order of Journalists), Igor Devetak(Director, Primorski Dnevnik), Vittorio Di Trapani (President, FNSI – National Federation of Italian Press), Fabrizio Ferragni(Director, RAI International Broadcasting), Ludovico Fontana(RAI journalist, promoter of the Balkan Route Award), Beppe Giulietti (National Coordinator, Articolo 21), Paolo Mosanghini (Il Messaggero Veneto, Editor-in-Chief), Carlo Muscatello(President, FVG Press Association), Roberto Papetti (Il Gazzettino, Editor-in-Chief), Elena Postelnicu (President, Foreign Press Association in Italy) and Paolo Roncoletta (Senior Editor, RAI TGR FVG).