Journalists today are facing the challenge of reporting on the rapid transformation taking place across our region from once mainly homogenous societies to vibrant multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities, as well as the task of reporting on increasingly complex conflicts and wars.

It is in this context that the Mediterranean Journalist Award was launched in 2006 by the Anna Lindh Foundation, in collaboration with the International Federation of Journalists, to promote and recognize the positive role played by journalists in reporting on issues of cultural diversity and providing balanced and informed coverage beyond the headline of “clash” of civilizations.

During the initial two editions, the Journalist Award engaged contributions from leading journalists across the shores of the Mediterranean, including Turkey, Slovenia, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Israel and Egypt, and received high visibility for its award ceremony at the first Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial on intercultural dialogue held in Athens in 2008.

In 2009, the Journalist Award was expanded through a new collaboration with the COPEAM Mediterranean network of audio-visual operators and the introduction of prize categories for radio and television, as well as involving contributions from the forty-three countries of the Union for the Mediterranean.