The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Information, took part in Foreign Press Association awards distribution ceremony held in London, under the auspices of Her Majesty Queen Camilla, consort of King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The ceremony was attended by Dr Abdullah bin Nasser al Harrasi, Minister of Information.
Speaking at the event, Her Majesty Queen Camilla commended the role of the media in various fields and underscored the significance of women’s presence in the media field.
For her part, Dagmar Seeland, President of the Foreign Press Association, stressed the importance of partnership and cooperation between the association and the Sultanate of Oman in the fields of media and journalism.
Speaking at the event, Dr Al Harrasi further confirmed the ministry’s keenness to build bridges of communication with international media institutions.
“The Ministry of Information’s participation in the FPA Awards Ceremony in the British capital, London, strengthens bridges of communication with international media institutions and enhances areas of cooperation in various media and journalistic aspects,” he added.
He said that the allocation of two awards in the name of the Sultanate of Oman from the Association’s awards presented to journalists and international media institutions for this year confirms the status of the Sultanate of Oman and the progress and development it is witnessing in the media field, in addition to its presence and media interaction at the regional and international levels. It also confirms the depth of Omani-British relations and the strong cooperation that links them at various levels. The most prominent of which are political, economic and cultural.
NOBLE MISSION
The Ministry of Information had hosted in October a delegation from the Foreign Press Association, who during their visit learned about the efforts of the Ministry of Information in its various institutions to advance its noble mission and the principles and values on which it is based, in addition to the pillars of the modern state that the Sultanate of Oman has in abundance and what it enjoys. It has economic and investment potential and unique tourism and cultural diversity.
Her Majesty Queen Camilla and the audience toured a photo exhibition held by the Ministry of Information, which highlighted the cultural aspects of the Sultanate of Oman, the country’s modern renaissance and its geographical and ecological diversity.
During the event, awards were distributed to international media professionals and institutions. Two of the awards were allocated under the name of the Sultanate of Oman. They were the “Best News Story of the Year” Award, won by Birgit Maass from the Deutsche Welle Network, and the “Journalist of the Year” Award, won by Robin Barnwell from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Known as the ‘Oscars of Journalism’ among other recognitions in the world, the annual Foreign Press Association Media Awards are among the most prestigious award ceremonies in the world.
The ceremony was attended by Badr bin Hamad al Mantheri, Sultanate of Oman’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, members of the Omani diplomatic mission in London, and media professionals representing more than 100 media institutions in Britain and other parts of the world.
WINNERS
The winners in different categories are: Story of the year by a Full Member of the FPA went to Daniele Hamamdjian, MarcD’Amours for the report Life under the Taliban for Afghan Women on CTV News, Canada, while Birgit Maass for her report titled Public Order versus Civil Rights: Is Liberal Britain under threat? appeared on Deutsche Welle, Germany, was the winner.
Jess Kelly, Owen Pinn Jess Kelly, won in the Environment category for the report Under Poisoned Skies on BBC News and BBC Arabic. In TV news story of the year 2023, Quentin Sommerville, Darren Conway won the award for the report On Zero Line Ukraine on BBC News. In print and web story of the year 2023, Zachary Mider, Swati Gupta and Modou Joof won for their report titled Poisoned Cough Syrup Killed Kids appeared on Bloomberg News. In Radio/Podcast story of the year 2023, Josh Baker, Sara Obeidat, Joe Kent, Jonathan Aspinwall and Emma Rippon won for the story The Shamima Begum Story (Series 2 of I’m Not A Monster) on BBC News Long Form Audio for BBC Sounds/5Live, while in travel and tourism story of the year 2023, Matt Rudd won the award for Airbnb on The Sunday Times Magazine.
Among the TV documentary of the year 2023 awards, Robin Barnwell, Darren Kemp, Hilary Andersson, Serhiy Solodko and Taras Shumeyko won the prize for Mariupol: The People’s Story on BBC/Top Hat Productions/Hayloft Productions, while in Financial/Economic story of the year 2023, Harry Wallop for the report The Banana Unpeeled on The Sunday Times Magazine bagged the prize. In Arts/Culture story of the year 2023, Jonathan Miller, Nick Blakemore, Yousef Hammash, Claire Pringle, Andy Lee and Ed Fraser for the report Gaza: Daring to Dream Unreported World on Channel 4 won the award.
The Thomson Foundation Young Journalist 2023 prize went to Yara El Murr, Lebanon, for her report ‘The Public Source’ for Tripoli Missing Migrants, Climate Change Agriculture, and Lebanon Disaster Risk Preparedness.
Maya Saad was declared winner of City University MA Student Foreign Correspondent award for Lebanon Tragedy at Sea.
In Science story of the year 2023, Samanth Subramanian from Guardian Long Read for the report Dismantling Sellafield: The Epic Task of Shutting Down A nuclear Site bagged the prize, while Robin Barnwell bagged the Journalist of the year award for his documentary.
Dedicated to excellence in journalism, the FPA Media Awards present a unique opportunity for journalists to be celebrated and recognised by their international peers. British and international entries are welcome from all the world's major broadcasters, newspapers, digital news and magazines.
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