Rudaw Media Network wins three international awards

Rudaw Media Network proudly announces another global success in winning three Stevie Awards, awarded to Rudaw Digital Director Brwa Kyani, the documentary "A Year of War," and a joint project between Rudaw and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

In this year's competition among major global brands such as Google, IBM, and Mastercard Miami for the international Stevie Awards, Rudaw Media Network won three awards. Rudaw's win was based on the evaluation by Stevie's Grand Jury, which includes 3,600 diverse experts from around the world. Twelve thousand large international brands, institutions, and their works and capabilities were nominated for these awards. The Stevie committee deemed Rudaw's products worthy of three awards. Besides Rudaw, companies like Microsoft, Aramco, Philip Morris, Mastercard, and Samsung have also won several Stevie Awards.

Two of Rudaw's awards are gold and one is bronze. The documentary "A Year of War" by our colleagues Dilnya Rahman and Ahmed Omar not only won the gold award, but received many points from the Stevie committee that, according to their scoring system, no other institution could be given second or third place. Rudaw's documentary shows the situation one year after the start of the war in Ukraine. The committee praised the documentary, saying: "This work was done with passion. We know how difficult it was to film and edit. It's a very good documentary that everyone should see." The committee asked Rudaw to continue with works that have international impact and said: "Please continue the excellent work you're doing. This documentary shows journalistic perseverance, professionalism, risk-taking to reach the truth, and powerful storytelling. The work is unique!"

Brwa Kyani, director of Rudaw Digital, won the second Stevie Gold Award. Brwa Kyani drew the committee's attention to Rudaw's unrivaled social media presence and won the gold award for success in social media management at a global level. According to the Stevie evaluation committee, Brwa Kyani has created a great advancement in digital media. This is living proof that the new generation of Rudaw managers and Rudaw Digital staff work at a level and vision that international centers respect and reward. The committee said about our successful colleague Brwa Kyani's work: "His strategic vision and leadership have given a strong boost to Rudaw's participation in the digital world. He has increased the view rate of Rudaw's posts from 70-80 thousand to 500-600 thousand, and on Facebook, he has made Rudaw reach one billion views."

The third Stevie Award for Rudaw is a Bronze Award for the joint project between Rudaw and the United Nations to train women journalists in Kurdistan and Iraq. The Stevie committee deemed this Rudaw program worthy of this international award saying: "It's a huge step, as it's the first joint project of its kind between a Middle Eastern media and the United Nations." The committee said it believes that "while many other media are busy producing content in the field of gender equality, Rudaw is taking on a huge challenge to eliminate this inequality within the media workforce. This insistence on social development and community empowerment is a sign of Rudaw's great change towards taking social responsibility." So far, 159 women have participated in the joint project between Rudaw and the United Nations to train women journalists. The project is ongoing and this year 300 women will participate.

Garik Hayrapetyan, UNFPA representative in Iraq, said that Rudaw winning the award "is a testament to the transformative power of partnerships in advancing women's empowerment and sustainable development." Regarding the continuation of the project, he said: "Through our collaboration with Rudaw Media Network, we are building the skills of women journalists and strengthening their voices to champion issues that matter most to society." Su King, deputy director of the UK Foreign Office's Development Office, congratulated Rudaw and said: "Winning this internationally recognised "Stevie® Award" is a testament to the quality, innovation, and effectiveness of this training, serving as a benchmark for outstanding performance and a real achievement for both Rudaw and UNFPA."

The Stevie Award is a prestigious and well-known international award. Previous media recipients include CNN, NBC, Bloomberg, and Al-Jazeera.

Bestun Nuri, director of Rudaw News Gathering, congratulated the people of Kurdistan and Rudaw's viewers, saying: "Rudaw continues to grow and raise the level of its work. We will take even bigger steps for greater influence and further progress at the global level."

Rudaw Media Network
22/8/2024

You can watch the documentary "A Year of War" here