The annual Suitcase Media Award ceremony took place on 18 December 2023, the International Day of Migrants.
As has been the tradition, this year’s award ceremony was organized with the joint efforts of the Migration and Citizenship Service (MCS) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia, UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency, People in Need, the United Nations Office in Armenia, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Suitcase 2023 Journalism Contest results were announced at an award ceremony held at the UN House in Yerevan. 18 December 2023. © UN Armenia/Hrant Sahakyan
At the event, speeches were delivered by Mr. Armen Ghazaryan, Head of the MCS, Mr. Frank Hess, Chargé ď Affaires a.i., of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ms. Kavita Belani, UNHCR Representative in Armenia, Ms. Varduhi Dadunts, Country Director of the People in Need Armenia, and Mr. Marco Pellegrini, representative of the IOM.
The evaluation committee, comprised of external relations professionals representing the co-organizing agencies, has selected the best materials out of more than a hundred submissions.
Thus, Armine Avetisyan won the Grand Prix with her report about Armenians illegally emigrating to the United States, titled “‘I dreamt of a carefree life — I was deceived’: the Armenians immigrating illegally to America.”
Armine Avetisyan (on the right), winner of Suitcase 2023 Grand Prix, and Lucy Manvelyan (on the left), member of the team of journalists who collectively won Suitcase 2022 Grand Prix, at the Suitcase 2023 Award ceremony. Yerevan, Armenia, 18 December, 2023. © UN Armenia/Hrant Sahakyan
The second prize was awarded to Maya Khachatryan for her report entitled “The Stones Speak Armenian: the Demands of Armenian Refugees and Forcibly Displaced Persons and the Steps Undertaken by the State” (inserted below).
The third prize was awarded to Anahit Harutyunyan for her report entitled “You don’t go to your dad’s house, you go to a foreign country…“.
Seven other journalists received incentive awards:
Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service of Armenia Armen Ghazaryan
Kavita Belani, UNHCR Representative, made a welcoming speech
UNHCR Representative Kavita Belani and Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service of Armenia Armen Ghazaryan
Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service of Armenia Armen Ghazaryan hands over the Grand Prix to Armine Avetisyan, the 2023 winner
Armine Avetisyan, Suitcase 2023 winner, and Armen Ghazaryan, Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service of Armenia
Armine Avetisyan, Suitcase 2023 winner, made a speech
Lucy Manvelyan, Suitcase 2022 winner, made a speech
The Suitcase Media Award is aimed at motivating high-quality thematic journalism. By encouraging the production of professional and impactful media content on the issues relating to refugees, displaced persons, and migrants in Armenia and their integration, the co-organising agencies aim to inspire journalists to apply more comprehensive, accurate, and impartial approaches to journalism covering displaced persons and migrants, as well as the challenges they face.
The Suitcase Media Award was established in 2010. In 2023, the contest was made possible with the co-funding of the European Union, contracted by ICMPD through the Migration Partnership Facility (MPF), UNHCR Armenia, IOM, and UN Armenia.
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