CAIRO: Three Egyptian journalists received the prestigious Anna Lindh Journalist Award, including the Professional Recognition Prize awarded to columnist Mona El Tahawy. Prince Albert II of Monaco presented the awards to journalists from across the Euro-Mediterranean region at a ceremony held on Oct. 14 in Monaco. Journalists were awarded in the categories of Press, Audiovisual, Online Media and Cultural Heritage. From Egypt, El Tahawy received a prize for outstanding professional contribution, along with Dalia Ziada and Ali Gohine in the categories of Online Media and Audiovisual respectively. There were 12 finalists hailing from Portugal, Egypt, Romania, Greece, France Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Belgium and the United Kingdom. Other recipients included French journalist Jean Daniel, founder of Le Nouvel Observateur, who was awarded for his life-long work for a common Mediterranean region. The jury, which is chaired this year by renowned sociologist Edgar Morin and presided by André Azoulay, president of the Anna Lindh Foundation, was comprised by Abdel-Rahman Al-Rashed, general manager of Al Arabiya Television; David Gardner, foreign affairs editor of the Financial Times; Hala Hashish, head of the Nile Television Network; Juan Luis Cebrian, founder of El Pais; Alessandra Paradisi, secretary general of COPEAM Audiovisual Network; and Rana Sabbagh, executive director of the Arab Reporters Investigative Journalism. The Anna Lindh Journalist Award is the Mediterranean region's leading prize for reporting across cultures and on issues of cultural diversity. The award, now in its fourth edition, is supported by partners including the Anna Lindh Foundation, COPEAM, the European Commission, the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the Monaco Mediterranean Foundation.
