CDKN-supported journalist Arison Tamfu is awarded the Lorenzo Natali Media Prize on 14 January 2016.

Arison Tamfu from Cameroon (front row, on left) has been awarded the Lorenzo Natali Media Prize 2015 for his story ‘Africa’s billions might be buried forever’, published in the Cameroon Daily Journal. The story shows how the use of renewable energies is improving lives in rural communities in Africa.

The Lorenzo Natali Media Prize 2015 took place in the context of the 2015 European Year for Development, which provided an unparalleled opportunity for the development community to showcase its commitment to eradicating poverty worldwide and to inspire more people to get engaged and involved in development. As such, the 2015 edition awarded media articles, broadcasts or blogs that stand out for their focus on development and poverty eradication.

Journalists were invited to submit their work, whether it be online, print, radio, TV, or blog posts. Amateur and professional awards are given across five award categories (based on the media outlet’s location): Africa, the Arab World and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

An independent jury chaired by Olivier Basille (Reporters without Borders, Belgium) with members representing all five category regions and with substantial experience in the field of communication and development, were responsible for selecting the winners. Jury members included Richard Jones (Devex), Caroline Giraud (Global Forum for Media Development), Eric Chinje (African Media Initiative), Frank la Rue (Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Europe) and Jefry M Tupas (newsdesk.ph, winner of the EU Peace Journalism Award).

The winning journalists received prizes of €5,000 and trophies during the Lorenzo Natali Media Prize Award Ceremony held in the Bibliothèque Solvay in Brussels (Belgium) on 14 January 2016.

The European Commission worked closely with regional partners to organise the Prize. An overview of all the Lorenzo Natali Media 2015 partners can be found in the partner section of the website.

Mr Tamfu was one of five African journalists supported by CDKN to attend COP20 in Lima, Peru in 2014 and was supported through a CDKN project that promotes the communicating of climate change issues in African media. The journalists were also tasked with articulating the position of the African Group of Negotiators in mainstream media in the run up to COP21 in Paris.