ILO announces winners of the 2022 Global Media Competition
ILO: Winning entries provide balanced and ethical reporting on migrants and labour migration and encourage the media to address stereotypes and misconceptions.
To mark this year’s International Migrants Day on 18 December the International Labour Organization (ILO) has announced the four winners of its 2022 Global Media Competition on Labour Migration.
The competition aims to promote quality reporting on labour migration issues, as balanced and ethical reporting play an important role in addressing stereotypes and misconceptions, as well as highlighting the positive contribution migrant workers make in their origin and destination countries.
The ILO received more than 300 entries from 95 countries. An independent panel of five judges reviewed the entries based on the criteria of creativity, accuracy and balance, protection of migrants and positive portrayal of labour migration. After a rigorous review, process prizes were awarded in two categories:
Professional category:
- Abuses on U.S. bases in Persian Gulf ensnare legions of migrant workers , by Katie McQue, Published by The Washington Post and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), (27 October 2022)
- Dal Punjab a Latina, pagare per diventare schiavo , by Ankita Anand, Daniela Sala and Marco Valle, published in IrpiMedia, (19 October 2022)
- Wonder women: central African refugee women raising the ceiling through entrepreneurial skills , by Rekiatu Musa Jingi, published in Soundcloud, (6 June 2022)
Student category:
- What it takes to send a family of Filipino domestic workers abroad , by Jan Cuyco and Cristina Chi, published in Tinig Ng Plaridel, (14 March 2022)
The winning entries were selected from a shortlist of finalists , which the judges praised for the quality of the reporting.
“The prize-winning articles in this year’s competition highlight the persistent challenges of countries and stakeholders in reducing the threats faced by millions of migrant workers across the globe who are forced into exploitive working conditions. Often these conditions begin in the recruitment process. Yet, the stories are also testimonies of migrants` and refugee workers’ agency and resilience. Through exemplary reporting by journalists, migrant workers’ contribution to economies and societies is becoming more recognized.”
Michelle Leighton, Chief of the ILO’s Labour Migration Branch
The stories highlight the importance, of good governance of labour migration and protection of migrant workers’ rights, including regarding recruitment fees and costs, in line with International Labour Standards as well as with the ILO’s General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment and Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs . These principles reiterate, among others, that workers shall not be charged fees or related costs for their recruitment, and call for fair and effective labour migration frameworks, institutions and services to protect migrant workers.
The competition contributes to some of the targets of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees , which include improving working conditions for migrant workers and positively influencing public narratives on migration.
The competition is supported by the International Trade Union Confederation, the International Organisation of Employers, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Federation of Journalists, Equal Times, Solidarity Centre, and Migrant Forum in Asia. The competition is also organized with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation funded ‘Integrated Programme on Fair Recruitment – Phase III ’ (FAIR III).
Disclaimer
The ILO recognizes the quality of the competition entries submitted. However, the responsibility for opinions expressed and names and terms used in the competition entries rests solely with their authors, and reproduction of the entries does not constitute an endorsement by the ILO of the opinions expressed and names and terms used in them.
