São Paulo – Brazilian journalist of Egyptian origin Randa Achmawi, the ANBA correspondent in Cairo, has just received the Menton Medias Mediterranee 2009 award for Mediterranean Journalism. The award was granted last week in the city of Menton, in Southern France, for her series of articles about the Mediterranean countries.
"The jury chose Randa as the first journalist to win the MMM (Menton Medias Mediterranee) Award, as it is turned to consecrating a journalist who, for her journalistic production (written, spoken or televised), has made an effort for the multicultural Mediterranean, tolerant and seeking the same destination," stated Dominique Antoni, president of the Mediterranean Press Club. "All these characteristics were identified in her efforts and work," he added.
Randa was born in São Paulo, but has lived abroad for 24 years. She studied at the Universities of Nice (France) and Geneva (Switzerland), and lived in countries like Burundi (Central Africa), Iran and Lebanon, and has been living in Cairo for 13 years, where she works as a journalist.
Menton Medias Mediterranee award was granted last Saturday at the closing of the first edition of an event that, over two days, brought together 43 journalists from 23 Mediterranean countries. The other award was granted to French photographer Caroline Poiron, for her photographic articles, especially those in southern Lebanon.
The two awards were granted by Menton city hall, which promotes the event, and by the Mediterranean Press Club, which is headquartered in Nice, also in southern France.
The Mediterranean Press Club is an organisation established in 1997 and its main objective is to establish the creation of a privileged space for dialogue between journalist and communicators in the whole region. "In our meetings and debates we discuss the main interests connected to the practice of our profession, such as the matter of ethics, freedom of speech, access to information, gender equality or journalist safety during the exercise of their work," according to the organisation’s site. Clube 06 has hundreds of members and correspondents in the Mediterranean and produces a monthly publication in French: InterMed.
*Translated by Mark Ament
