(MindaNews / 13 June) — Carolyn O. Arguillas of MindaNews has been named as the 2023 Luxembourg Peace Prize (LPP) awardee for Outstanding Peace Journalism, the first Filipino honored in the 11 years that the Schengen Peace Foundation and the World Peace Forum have been giving out the awards “to honor the outstanding in the field of peace.” Arguillas is one of five laureates who will be honored along with two organizations at the awarding rites on Wednesday, June 14 at the European Convention Center in Luxembourg.
The LPP named three persons who will each receive the “Outstanding Peace Activist” award: Ali Abu Awwad and Gershon Baskin who have been working on peacebuilding in Israel-Palestine for years, and Mariia Levchenko of Ukraine.
The LPP is also awarding Daniel Quintero Calle, the mayor of Medellin in Colombia, for “Outstanding Public Peace Efforts”; and two organizations – the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and The Well Being Planet for “Outstanding Environmental Peace,” and “Outstanding Inner Peace,” respectively.
The LPP for Outstanding Peace Journalism “seeks to recognize journalists or media publications who have used their craft to contribute to peace.”
In its press release, the LPP said Arguillas of Mindanao, Philippines “has emerged as a visionary leader in the field of Peace Journalism.”
Arguillas served as Editor-in-Chief of MindaNews until June 1 this year and now heads its Publications, Archives and Library. She also serves as its Special Reports Editor and is a Professorial Lecturer at the College of Mass Communication at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
“Throughout all this time, Carolyn herself has maintained the highest standards of original reporting and analysis in her own journalism,” the LPP said in its press release.
“With her unwavering commitment to journalism ethics and her contributions to constructive and inclusive media coverage, Carolyn has become an influential figure in the pursuit of peace in the Philippines,” the LPP said.
It noted that “over the past two decades, MindaNews under her leadership has earned recognition for its constructive coverage of peace efforts, fostering an environment of dialogue and understanding … has played a significant role in achieving milestones in the country’s peace processes, including the signing of a peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro people in the southern part of the country and the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.”
It added that her “contribution to peace journalism has helped shape the media landscape towards a better reporting and understanding of Mindanao. Her commitment to responsible reporting combined with her unwavering dedication to peacebuilding, has made her an influential figure in the pursuit of a more inclusive society.”
For Arguillas, “Peace is a process, not a mere event. In reporting peace and conflict, knowing history and upholding human rights and justice are a must.”
Arguillas is the fifth laureate for “Outstanding Peace Journalism” since it was first awarded in 2017. The other laureates are Prof. Jake Lynch and Dr. Annabel McGoldrick (2017), Jamil Simon (2019) and Steve Youngblood (2020/2021).
In her letter to Arguillas, Vicki Hansen of the Schengen Peace Foundation, President of the Luxembourg Peace Prize, said she was “nominated by delegates of the World Peace Forum and selected by the Luxembourg Peace Prize Committee of the Schengen Peace Foundation to be awarded the 2023 Luxembourg Peace Prize: Outstanding Peace Journalism for outstanding efforts and initiatives to promote peace.”
The LPP award is a “Peace of Paper” and consists of “Certificate, Award in terms of a medallion or a sculpture (since 2017), invitation to publish in the Global Prospects Journal, potential to nominate youth for Luxembourg University scholarship, and a pledge by the WPF and LPP to promote the work of the Laureate in their work with youth, educators, government, and in social media.”
Arguillas finished Elementary and High School at the University of the Immaculate Conception in Davao City, AB Journalism at the University of the Philippines in Diliman and her MA in Journalism at the Asian Center for Journalism of the Ateneo de Manila University. She finished the academic requirements for MA in Peace and Development at the Notre Dame University in Cotabato City and took some units in MA Anthropology at the Ateneo de Davao University.
Arguillas has won several national awards – the Catholic Mass Media Awards for Best News Reporting, the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Investigative Journalism, lifetime achievement awards from Titus Brandsma-Philippines and the Hildegarde Awards for Women of the St. Scholastica’s College, the Investigative Journalist of the Year award from the Rotary Club of Manila, Marshall McLuhan Prize from the Canadian Embassy, Gawad AKAp Peace Awards, and the Glory Award for Journalism conferred by the UP College of Mass Communication Alumni Association.
The Schengen Peace Foundation was founded in 2005, and approved in 2007 by His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri, as a “Peace Think-Tank, supporting peacebuilding.”
The Schengen Peace Foundation initiated the World Peace Forum, a global platform for peace activists and peace initiatives. The forum connects peace activists from around the world to meet, exchange ideas and together achieve greater impact. (MindaNews)
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Luxembourg Peace Price 2023 Outstanding Peace Journalism
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