Dutch journalist wins second prize in European Journalist Award

Dutch Volkskrant journalist Rob Vreeken became second in winning the 'European Journalist Award for Excellence in Journalism’. This European Journalist Award is a tribute to journalists who by their articles contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and in particular contribute to sexual and reproductive health and rights of men and women worldwide.

Ceremony cancelled because of cloud of ash
The competition was open to journalists from The Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Spain and Austria who write about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and poverty alleviation in developing countries. The award has been set up in the framework of the project ‘Reproductive Health for All’ in which NGOs from the above mentioned countries cooperate’, The project is being funded by the EU. The award ceremony which was planned in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, couldn’t take place because of the cloud of ash from the volcano from Iceland. The international journalists and jury members couldn’t reach the Netherlands.

Winners
First prize went to a German duo: Journalist Angelika Gardiner wrote an interesting article about Ethiopian women suffering from fistula. Andrea Künzig illustrated the article with beautiful pictures. Spanish journalist Erena Calvo won the third prize with an article about illegal abortion in Morocco.

Dutch journalist second
Rob Vreeken writes about Reproductive Rights since the ICPD in 1994. His wining article – published on the 6th and 7th f February 2009 - Senegal is Almost Female Genital Cutting-Free - will be published in a book of Vreeken that will be in the shops in the Netherlands this summer.

Selected from 200 articles
The winning articles were being selected from a total of more than 200 articles in the five above mentioned European countries. The three European winners receive a prize in money of 2.000, 1.000 and 500 euro and are being invited to take part in a study tour to Uganda later this year.

Campaign
The Reproductive Health for All campaign is funded by the EU. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.