JRS Journalism Prize 2008
                                               Announcement of Prize Winners

BRUSSELS, APRIL 09 - JRS-Europe is pleased to announce that three winners have been selected for the 2008 edition of the JRS Journalism Prize. The competition received a fantastic response with entries from all over Europe that covered a wide range of topics. The three winning articles were selected in March by a team of professional journalists, and following a thorough source and fact check, we can now announce the three winners.

In third place is Mr. Thomas Bay Estrup from Denmark, for his article, ‘A Young African’s Odyssey to Europe’. The article deals with a young Nigerian boy’s journey to Europe in search of a better life. The jury praised the article for its style and vivid account of this boy’s journey.

In second place is Ms. Stav Shaffir from the UK, for her article, ‘Shall We Dance’. Dealing with the difficulties faced by homosexual asylum seekers, all jury members agreed that Ms. Shaffir’s piece tackled an issue that is still not getting much coverage in the mainstream media.

In first place is Ms. Anastasia Stolovitskaya from Denmark, for her article, ‘The Politics of Fighting Windmills’. Ms. Stolovitskaya’s article is an account of the day-to-day reality of life in a detention centre for one Iraqi family. The jurors were particularly impressed by the authors style of delivery and the understanding of the subject showed by Ms Stolovitskaya.

The three winners will attend a prize-giving ceremony hosted by Ms. Hiltrud Breyer MEP in the European Parliament on April 15th. Overall winner Ms. Anastasia Stolovitskaya will visit a refugee camp in Malawi this summer and document her experiences for JRS.


For full appraisals of the articles, find the official jury report at www.jrseurope.org.
Any press wishing to attend the ceremony in the European Parliament, and for those wishing to receive copies of the articles, please contact Michael Donohoe at press.europe(a)jrs.net