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Ammon News - Four female journalists won an award, launched by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last April, for stories written on humanitarian subjects.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jordan Press Association (JPA) and the Jordan Red Crescent Society (JRCS) held a formal ceremony Monday evening in Amman to announce the winners of the first Humanitarian Awards organized by the partners in Jordan.

The first prize was shared by two journalists: Tala Ayoub from Al-Rai Newspaper and Ikhlas Al-Qadi from the Ammon News. Two journalists also shared the second prize; Ola Abdel-Latif from Al-Ghad Newspaper, and Razan Al-Majali from Al-Rai Newspaper, according to an ICRC statement released Tuesday.

The Humanitarian Awards was launched in April this year for entries on stories and photos published between June 2020 and September 7, 2021 in two categories: the best story on a humanitarian subject and the best photograph on a humanitarian subject. However, the jury panel concluded that there were no winners in the photo category, as the entries submitted did not meet prescribed standards.

During the ceremony, Sarah Avrillaud, Head of the ICRC Delegation in Jordan, said that "the motivation of the ICRC for instituting the competition is born out of its conviction that the media in every country could play an essential role in raising attention to the plight of those affected by humanitarian crisis so that the reading and viewing public may be better informed. Equally important is the fact that those who make policy or take decisions that could impact this category of persons would be able to take informed decisions on issues related to the affected populations."

Emphasizing the role the press can play in promoting humanitarian action, Khaled Qudah, representative of the JPA, said that "we are pleased to cooperate with the ICRC and the JRCS, as we all strive to maximize the values of humanity, motivate journalists to report more on humanitarian issues and reward creative writing that shows the power of words and images."

Announcing the winners, Hussein Nashwan, a member of the jury panel said that "the jury read the materials presented under the humanitarian story genre, considering the novelty and originality of the topic, the richness of the material and its professionalism. In addition to its neutral and impartial treatment. The committee also set evaluation criteria related to language, syntax, good selection of topics, and method of handling and presenting a humanitarian story in writing."

The ceremony brought together diplomats, media personalities, humanitarian and development organizations.