New journalists join UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize

Prominent journalists Margo Smit (The Netherlands), Mauricio Weibel (Chile), Yasuomi Sawa (Japan) and Mae Azango (Liberia) have been appointed as members of the international independent jury of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

The Jury is composed of six media professionals from around the world, recognized for their leading investigative work and defence for freedom of expression. They are appointed in their individual capacity for a period of three years, renewable once. The jurors will be in charge of reviewing nominations and choosing the 2022 laureate, announced ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.

Last year’s laureate was Maria Ressa, investigative journalist and media executive from the Philippines. Maria Ressa was also awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Previous UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize laureates include many of the world’s leading investigative journalists from all regions.

The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize

Awarded annually, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (3 May) which will this year take place in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 2 to 5 May 2022, the Prize is marked by a ceremony and the winner is presented with the sum of US$ 25,000.

Nominations, submitted by UNESCO Member States and international and regional NGOs active in the field of press freedom, should be submitted by filling out the form in English or French and sent, before 15 February 2022, to the UNESCO Secretariat g.godoi@unesco.org and f.romer@unesco.org).

This Prize was established by UNESCO’s Executive Board, in 1997, in honor of Guillermo Cano, a Colombian journalist who died in the exercise of his profession. Its purpose is to reward each year a person, organization or institution that has made a notable contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially if risks have been involved.

More information on the Prize is available here.