Winners of Belarus in Focus 2014 journalism competition are now known!

This year, the competition received 51 articles by 40 authors from 14 countries. Many of these articles were of excellent quality and the jury had a hard time coming to a decision. However, after careful consideration, the jury has awarded prizes to (in alphabetical order):

Professional

• Simon Book (Germany), Lukashenko’s Lucrative Offers, Handelsblatt, October 5th, 2014
• Paul Flückiger (Switzerland), Repressions Ahead of Ice Hockey World Championships in Belarus, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, May 5th, 2014
• Malgozhata Lozovskaya (Russia), If you want to be a millionaire, go to Belarus, openDemocracy, August 27th, 2014

Beginner

• João de Almeida Dias (Portugal), While resisting, they expect no surprise, Observador, December 8th, 2014
• Paula Borowska (Poland), Non-Formal Education In Belarus: Unleashing The Civil Society Potential, Belarus Digest, November 18th, 2014
• Eva Coronado Alonso (Spain), The Belarusian language wants its place, Achtung magazine, December 26th, 2014

Jury members wish to give special mentions to:

• Evgeny Karpov (Belarus), Championship in a Strange House, New Eastern Europe, July 17th, 2014

Winners in the professional category will receive prizes of 500 EUR each, and winners in the beginners category will receive prizes of 300 EUR each. Winners will also be invited to a workshop – more details about the date and the place of the workshop will follow soon. The award ceremony will take place during the workshop. Other competition participants may also be invited depending on the number of remaining places.

Comments by the jury members on the winning articles will be published before the award-giving ceremony.

The winner of the online competition is:

• Olena Andriuschenko (Ukraine), World of a strict regime, Vechernii Dnepr, November 9th, 2014

She will receive a photo album by Siarhei Plytkevich called The Planet Belarus