Winners

Manar Attiya Salem

First Prize

Egyptian journalist Manar Attiya Salem wrote about the disturbing plight of Aya, a 14-year-old girl who was forcefully married to wealthy Arabs from the Gulf region three times in just one month, each time just for a few days. Aya decided to break her silence and denounce her father to the police. For the first time, parents, husbands and people suspected of involvement in the network are facing the courts. But the teenager’s case is just one of many in Egypt.

Egypt

Title of the article
Aya ouvre une brèche / Aya Breaks the Wall
Name of media
Journal Al-Ahram Hebdo
Manar has worked as a journalist in the lifestyle section at the newspaper Al-Ahram Hebdo since 1993, when its first edition was published. Since that time she has written hundreds of articles about Egyptian society, ranging from topics such as the health benefits and cultural obstacles of breast-feeding babies, through to stories about the demonstrations in Tahrir Square.

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Adama Wade

Second Prize

Adama Wade received diploma of a Maritime Transport and Management in 1998 and has a Master’s degree in Communication. Adama Wade began as a journalist at “Demain Magazine” (2000), then becoming the Head of Service of the Economics and Finance at “Aujourd’hui le Maroc” (2004-2007). In 2007, he was an active member of the founding team of the financial newspaper “Les Afriques”.

Morocco

Title of the article
Le scandale du cacao ivoirien / The Scandal of Ivorian Cocoa
Name of media
Les Afriques
The article reveals a detailed investigation on the consequences of the liberalisation of the cocoa network on the Ivorian farmers and operators. Intended to eliminate the bureaucracy and to facilitate the procedures by including the free competition, this liberalization has led to the emerging of powerful oligopolies controlling the industry. In the meanwhile, the Ivorian planters, who due to the reform lost the mechanism that guaranteed them the minimum price, now saw their incomes drop by half. The agitation that this investigation in several episodes created among the Ivorian Chamber of Commerce, the Presidency and various stakeholders tell us much about the sensitivity of the cacao issue for the world’s largest producer.

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Abdelkarim Chankou

Third Prize

Abdelkarim Chankou is a professional journalist since 1994. After his start as a journalist in several daily newspapers, he joined “Citadine” in May 2000. He focuses on society subjects, particularly on the protection of minorities and vulnerable people.

Morocco

Title of the article
Milouda en danger de mort ? / Is Milouda in Lethal Danger ?
Name of media
Citadine
On the occasion of World AIDS Day, Milouda, a Maroccan woman who works for an association fighting against AIDS appears on a video were she explains by bold gestures to prostitutes how to convince a customer to use a condom. The video goes around the world. Milouda is pointed out. Her life is in danger.

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