Ceremony 2009

At the conference Digitals News Affairs 2009 in Brussels, the jury announced this year’s winners of The Concentra Awards.

The Concentra Award for Outstanding Journalism is won by American journalist Alexandra Garcia from the Washington Post for her item “The Healing Fields” and the special Breaking News Award goes to the Nepalese journalist Subina Shrestha from Al Jazeera for her item “Up The Irrawaddy”.

Ceremony 2008

The award ceremony for The Concentra 2008 took place at the prestigious Brussels Marriott Hotel on March 3rd. This years winner was 34 year old Norwegian Idar Edvin Krogstad with his piece "Nightwatch".

Aljazeera International’s Tony Birtley won the additional prize for the best breaking news item for his coverage of the mass popular uprising and subsequent crackdown in Myanmar last September.

Click the pictures below to enlarge or click here for videos of the award ceremony

 

Head of Jury Michael Rosenblum shows "Breaking News winner" Tony Birtley the way to the lecture for his acceptance speech.

 

Tony Birtley: "I am extremely honoured and very proud to receive this tremendous recognition".

 

Willy Lenaers, CEO of Concentra Media, hands over the Tintin sculpture that comes with The Concentra 2008 to NRK's Idar Krogstad for his winning item "Nightwatch"

 

Idar Krogstad: "I think the battle for video journalism is won now. Winning this award means a small story from a guy with a camera from anywhere in the world can move people. My story could not have been done in any other way".

Ceremony 2006

The award giving ceremony of The Concentra 2005-2006 was held on the 7th of June in the International Press Center, situated in the prestigious Residence Palace in Brussels.

Ian Barmer, a British video-journalist from the BBC, won this year's edition with his enty Kidney Transplant. The winning newsitem tells the story about a woman who receives a kidney from her husband in order to survive.

Ian Barmer could not attent the ceremony, as he himself is recovering from surgery. He was well represented by his colleague Johnny Rutherford, a fellow BBC VJ who was nominated himself.

Click on the pictures below to enlarge.

 

After the ceremony, the members of the jury posed together with the nominated journalists. In the middle, Johnny Rutherford, accepting the award for his colleague Ian Barmer.

 

The nominees from left to right: Michelle Lyons (BBC), Johnny Rutherford (BBC), Sara Rainer (Hessischer Rundfunk) and John Lawrence (BBC), standing in for Andy Smithe.

 

Viviane Reding, European commissioner for information, society and media, presents the cheque of 10 000 euro to Ian Barmer's stand-in, Johnny Rutherford.

 

Together with the cheque, Viviane Reding presented the winner with a sculpture of Tintin, the most famous Belgian journalist of all time.