Bernama journalists among Young Humanitarian Writers Competition winners
KUALA LUMPUR: Two Bernama journalists have won prizes under the journalist category of the 2016 Young Humanitarian Writers Competition ( YHWC) themed “The Power of Humanity.”
Tengku Faizah Tengku Yusof won the first prize while the second prize went to Nurhafizah Tan.
They were among six winners from over 150 other entries submitted in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, the International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC) said in a statement.
For the non-journalist category ( Malay language) the winners were Ahmad Fahmi Mohd Samsudin from Terengganu ( first prize) and Sareeka a/p Balakrishnan from Penang (second prize).
For the English language category, the first prize winner was Angel Goh Wei Ling from Penang and Nalina a/p Santhiran from Perak (second prize).
First prize winners will receive electronic gadgets worth RM1,500 while second prize winners will receive electronic gadgets worth RM1,000
The competition, launched on May 8 to coincide with the World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, was organised by the ICRC and the National Press Club Malaysia (NPC), with the cooperation of the Malaysian Red Crescent Society ( MRCS).
The ICRC competition, said that opened the to participants of between 16 and 30 years old, aimed at stimulating discussions and generate greater awareness about today’s most pressing humanitarian challenges as well as foster a broader understanding of the issues related to armed conflict and other violence.
NPC President Datuk Mokhtar Hussain said that he was impressed with the thought that went into the entries and the depth of the submissions.
“I hope young writers will continue to generate awareness on humanitarian issues through their writing, further spreading the power of humanity”, said Mokhtar, who is Bernama’s Deputy Editor-in- Chief ( Domestic News).
A panel of judges including academics, practitioners and experts in communications, international humanitarian law and humanitarian affairs selected the six winners who demonstrated an excellent basic understanding of humanitarian issues and challenges.
They underlined good writing skills, originality and humanitarian reporting as the winning traits of young humanitarian writers.
“It is heartening to see young writers with such a high level of creativity when discussing today’s most pressing humanitarian issues,”said one of the judges, Prof Madya Dr Mahmud Zuhdi Mohd Nor, from Unversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. — Bernama