DHAKA: Syed Zain Al-Mahmood, Managing Editor of the newsweekly Dhaka Courier, won the Asian Development Bank Institute`s `Developing Asia Journalism Award` for 2012.
He got the prize for his story titled “Pink Gold Rush” which was published earlier this year in Dhaka Courier as a cover story and focused on the devastating impact of shrimp cultivation on surrounding environment in south-west Bangladesh.
Zain Al-Mahmood received the coveted prize at a special ceremony held in Tokyo on Tuesday evening.
The announcement was made at a tension-packed gathering at where 25 finalists from countries across Asia and the Pacific joined other guests and dignitaries to know about the final results.
The international panel of judges selected the story for the highest award among almost 300 entries submitted for this year’s competition from Asia-Pacific region countries, ranging from Solomon Islands in Southern Pacific to Azerbaijan, adjoining the Caucasus Mountains.
Chinese journalist Gong Jing received the 1st runner-up prize while Indian journalist Joseph Reji was selected 2nd runner-up. Pramod Kumar Tanden, a promising young journalist from Nepal, received the Young Development Journalist of the Year award.
Raihan M Chowdhury of the Financial Express is the second Bangladeshi journalist who could make it to the list of 25 finalists invited to Tokyo for joining a workshop in addition to attending the award ceremony.
All of the 25 finalists will attend a three-day workshop from Wednesday, which will also take them to tsunami-hit regions of north-eastern Japan to get a first-hand account of post-disaster recovery.
The Developing Asia Journalism Awards (DAJA) was established by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) in 2004 to build capacity among journalists working on key development issues.
The annual awards honour the work and contributions of journalists actively engaged in the responsible dissemination of knowledge related to poverty reduction, and other areas that support long-term growth in Asia and the Pacific.
In 2008, the DAJA programme began to include a short training course to provide DAJA finalists an opportunity to discuss and debate key development issues and their impacts with their colleagues and leading experts.
BDST: 1350 HRS, NOV 24, 2012
Edited by: Shahin Afroz, Newsroom Editor- eic@banglanews24.com
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