Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism: Opening speech by the 2024 jury chair

Juliane Hielscher, President of Berlin Press Club and chair of the 2024 jury, opened the award ceremony of the 2024 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism in Strasbourg on 23rd October, with the following speech.

Dear President Metsola,
Dear Vice President Picierno,
Dear Members of Parliament,
Dear fellow colleagues and friends
Good evening everybody!

Many of you will know Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son Paul published a book about his mother last year. In the first pages, Paul expresses concern that his mother’s work and the brutal injustice that happened to her in 2017 could soon be forgotten.

This is a more than understandable concern. But it seems to me that this concern is becoming more and more unfounded with each passing year.

A few weeks ago, I visited Malta with an international press group. In Daphne’s hometown, there has been a small memorial. The attention from passers-by is limited. However, in the heart of Valletta—at the foot of a group of statues symbolising Faith, Valor, and Civilisation—the Maltese keep the memory alive through silent protest.

Tourists marvel at the photos of Daphne, candles, greetings and flowers. If authorities remove items there are always new ones the next day. That is the good news one wants to shout to the family: Your mother, sister, wife is not forgotten in her homeland. And not here in the heart of Europe, either.

The prize named after her is another stand being taken against forgetting. As this year, it will be awarded for the 4th time. It is thus almost impossible to imagine everyday European life without it. And if any future European Parliament should consider abolishing it, it is up to us journalists to scrutinise and question why investigative journalism, which examines European ethics, should suddenly be deemed unimportant.

One might say – unfortunately – that this form of media work is also necessary in a democratically managed European Union. One might say – fortunately – that nowadays we can report critically in most European countries without fearing for our lives and safety.

We already heard: Freedom and pluralism of the media are enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. And it is up to us to demand and use these rights. With courage, but also with thorough research and responsibility for our choice of words. And that is exactly what all colleagues whose publications were eligible this year did.

There are 322 submitted reports. Reports on crimes, corruption, illicit influence and deeply undemocratic decisions. Violence and fraud play a role in almost all the stories. And most of the time, it’s about power and money.

The 29 jury members from all European countries had to evaluate these stories within a short timeframe. We created a shortlist of 13 works, each of such exceptional quality that they deserve an award themselves. The rules simply state that we had to choose one. But I would like to mention some reports, in high esteem.

The investigation from Estonia which describes how the Russian power apparatus manipulates the civilian population. And the Russian colleagues’ work, currently published from within Latvia, which describes the indoctrination of children who were dragged from Ukraine to Russia during the war, where they are brainwashed by authorities, school and staff in the homes. Both stories evoke horror and amplify concerns and questions regarding the future relationship between the European Union and Russia.

The report “Desert Dumps” that demonstrates what happens to funds from the European migration management budget in North African countries - where African internal refugees are hunted and then transported into the desert, where they are simply abandoned.

Finally, I would like to mention the stories from the series “Mare Nostrum”, which focuses on the Mediterranean – the great water that connects so many European countries and serves as a lifeline for millions of people in agriculture, fishing, and tourism. Despite all the Green Deals in the world, it is becoming increasingly warmer and sicker, seemingly not well enough protected by European regulations.

These and all other reports on the shortlist are based on deep research, are excellently written or produced, and achieve a remarkable balance between factual information and the portrayal of human stories. On behalf of the jury, I would like to express our full appreciation. The reports were all so good that it really was a challenge to choose only one.

Nevertheless, I want to personally thank you for this, as the agony of choice led me to take apart my entire kitchen on voting Sunday and clean all the cabinets and drawers inside and out until late in the evening. And if my jury colleagues also struggled with their decision, then there must now be 29 kitchens across Europe that are so spotless that they do justice to the European House.

The winner of the 2024 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism is Lost in Europe’s investigation, “More than 50,000 unaccompanied migrant children vanished in Europe in the past three years”. The award was announced by Stavros Malichudis, chief editor of the 2023 laureate, Solomon.

About the award

The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism was initiated by the European Parliament in 2019 to support and highlight the importance of professional journalism in safeguarding freedom, equality and opportunity. The Prize is awarded annually, commemorating Daphne Caruana Galizia on the anniversary of her assassination.

The award is open to journalists of any nationality whose stories were published or broadcast by media based in any one of the EU’s 27 member states. The winner is selected by an independent jury composed of representatives of the press and civil society from the 27 EU member states and a representative of the International Federation of Journalists.

The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation is not involved in administering the award.